.GRICULTURE 



EGINNERS 

URUETT, STEVENS 
AND HILL 



GINN AND COMPANY 




Class 




Book. .^^ y6 ^ 



Copyright }I°. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSir. 




Copyright, 19.J2, liy l->..ul>le.lny. Pair'' .V C'.. 

The End of the Harvest 



AGRICULTURE FOR 
BEGINNERS 



BY 



CHARLES WILLIAM BURKETT 

Editor of Amekican Agriculturist 

FORMERLY DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 

Kansas State Agricultural College 



FRANK LINCOLN STEVENS 

Professor of Biology in the North Carolina College op 
Agriculture and Mechanic Arts 



DANIEL HARVEY HILL 

President of the North Carolina College op 
Agriculture and Mechanic Arts 



GINN AND COMPANY 

BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 



h 



kV,'^ 



Entered at Stationers' Hall 



Copyright, 1903, 1904, by 

Charles William Burkett, Frank Lincoln Stevens 

AND Daniel Harvey Hill 



ALL rights reserved 

211. 10 



GINN & COMPANY • PRO- 
PRIETORS ■ BOSTON • U.SJL 



PREFACE 

The authors of this httle book beheve that there is no 
line of separation between the science of agriculture and 
the practical art of agriculture. They are assured by expe- 
rience that agriculture is eminently a teachable subject. 
They are convinced that the theory and practice of agricul- 
ture can be taught at one and the same time. They see 
no difference between teaching the child the fundamental 
principles of farming and teaching the same child the 
fundamental truths of arithmetic, geography, or grammar. 
They hold that a youth should be trained for the farm 
just as he is trained for any other occupation. 

If they are right in these views, the training must begin 
in the public schools. This is true for two reasons : 

I. It is universally admitted that aptitudes are devel- 
oped, tastes acquired, life habits formed during the years 
that a child is in the public school. Hence, during these 
important years, every child intended for the farm should 
be taught to know and love nature, should be led to form 
habits of observation, and should be required to begin a 
study of those great laws upon which agriculture is based. 
A training like this would go far towards making his life- 
work profitable and delightful. 



IV 



PREFACE 



2. Most boys and girls reared on a farm get no educa- 
tional training except that given in the public schools. If, 
then, the truths that unlock the doors of nature are not 
taught in the public schools, " Nature and nature's laws 
will always be hid in night " to a majority of our bread 
winners. They must still in ignorance and hopeless 
drudgery tear their bread from a reluctant soil. 

The authors return hearty thanks to Professor Thomas 
F, Hunt, Ohio State University ; Professor Augustine D. 
Selby, Ohio Experiment Station ; Professor W. F. Massey, 
North Carolina Experiment Station ; and Professor Franklin 
Sherman, Jr., State Entomologist of North Carolina, for aid 
in proof-reading. For valuable assistance in securing illus- 
trations grateful acknowledgment is made to the German 
Kali Works, New York ; Mr. Alexis Everett Frye, Cam- 
bridge, Mass.; Professor Byron D. Halsted, New Brunswick, 
N.J.; Director R. J. Redding, Experiment, Ga. ; Director 
I. P. Roberts, Cornell University; Vermont Farm Machine 
Company, Bellows Falls ; the Agricultural Experiment Sta- 
tion, Cornell University ; the Indiana Experiment Station, 
Lafayette; Mr. H. L. Bolley, North Dakota Agricultural Col- 
lege ; Mr. J. F. Kemp, Columbia University ; Mr. Clarence 
M. Weed, New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the 
Mechanic Arts ; and the United States Department of Agri- 
culture. Detailed credit is given in connection with many 
of the illustrations. 

June, 1903. 



PREFACE TO SUPPLEMENT 

In preparing Agriculture for Beginners, the authors 
purposely refrained from treating in detail many subjects 
of agricultural importance. This was done for two reasons : 
first, schools are, in general, just beginning to teach agri- 
culture, hence the authors wanted to present, as far as 
possible, only fundamental principles ; second, they did 
not want to put too large a book into the hands of school 
children. 

There has, however, been a demand from several states 
for a more extended treatment of some topics, and this 
supplement is prepared to meet that demand. 

Professor W. F. Massey has rendered much kindly aid in 
the preparation of the Supplement. Thanks are also due 
to the Bowker Fertilizer Company for the loan of several 
interesting and attractive photographs. 

May, 1904. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter I - 


-THE SOIL 


PAGE 


Section 


I. Origin of the soil 


I 




2. Tillage of the soil 


. 6 




3. The moisture of the soil 


. 10 




4. How the water rises in the soil . 


• 14 




5. Draining the soil .... 


• 15 




6. Improving the soil 


. 18 




7. Manuring the soil .... 


. 22 



Chapter II — THE SOIL AND THE PLANT 

Section 8. Roots . . . . . 

9. How a plant feeds from the soil . 

10. Root tubercles .... 

1 1 . The rotation of crops . 



27 
31 
33 
35 



Chapter III— THE PLANT 

Section 12. How a plant feeds from the air . 

13. The sap current .... 

14. The flower and the seed 

15. Pollination ..... 

16. Crosses, hybrids, and cross-pollination 

17. Plant propagation by buds . 
Plant seeding : cotton ; wheat 
Selecting seed corn 
Weeds ...... 

Seed purity and vitality 



18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 



41 

42 

44 

48 

50 
54 
62 
69 
73 

n 



vm 



CONTENTS 



Chapter IV — HOW TO RAISE A FRUIT TREE 

Section 22. Grafting ...... 

23. Budding ...... 

24. Planting and pruning .... 



83 
86 



Chapter V — THE DISEASES OF PLANTS 

Section 25. Tlie cause and nature of plant disease 

26. Yeast and bacteria 

27. Prevention of plant diseases . 

28. Some special plant diseases . 

Fire blight of the pear and apple 

Oat and wheat smuts 

The potato scab 

Late potato blight 

The club root . 

The black knot 

The peach curl 

The cotton wilt 

The fruit mold 



94 
100 
102 
103 
103 
107 
109 
1 1 1 
114 
114 
115 
115 
116 



Chapter VI — ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD 
INSECTS 



Section 



29. 
30- 



31- 



Insects in general . . . . . .118 

Orchard insects : San Jos^ scale ; codling 
moth ; plum curculio ; grape phylloxera ; 
cankerworm ; apple-tree tent caterpillar ; 
pear-tree girdler; peach borer . . .126 
Garden and field insects : cabbage worm ; 
chinch bug ; plant louse ; squash bug ; flea- 
beetle ; weevil ; Hessian fly ; potato beetle ; 
tobacco worm . . . . . .140 





CONTENTS 


Chapter VII — 


-FARM CROPS 


Section 32. 


Cotton . 


33- 


Tobacco 




34- 


Wheat . 




35- 


Corn 




36. 


Peanuts . 




37- 


Sweet potatoes 




38. 


Rice 




39- 


The farm garden 





IX 



150 

159 
163 

168 
173 
175 
177 
179 



Chapter VIII — DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



183 
192 
197 
200 
204 
207 
211 



Section 47. The dairy cow : care of the cow . . .216 

48. Milk, cream, churning, and butter : milk ; the 

different kinds of milk ; cream ; the churn ; 
churning ; butter ..... 220 

49. How milk sours . . . . . .225 



Section 40. 


Horses . 


41. 


Cattle . 


42. 


Sheep 


43- 


Swine 


44. 


Farm poultry 


45- 


Bee culture 


46. 


Why we feed 


Chapter IX — 


FARM DAII 



Chapter X — MISCELLANEOUS 

Section 50. Growing feeding stuffs on the farm 

51. Farm tools and machines 

52. Birds . . . . 

53. Life in the country 



228 

232 

234 
240 



CONTENTS 



Chapter XI — SUPPLEMENT 



Section 54. Horticulture: Market Gardening; Hotbeds 
Cold Frames ; Sowing ; Care of Crops 
Asparagus 
Beans 
Cabbage 
Celery 
Cucumbers 
Cantaloupes 
Egg plants 
Onions 
Peas . 
Tomatoes 
Watermelons 

55. Flower and Window Gardenin 

56. Forage . 

Grasses 
Alfalfa 
Clovers 

57. Cotton-Boll Weevil 

58. Farming on Dry Lands 

59. Irrigation 

60. Sugar Cane . 

Appendix — References and Tables 
Glossary , . . . 
Index 



248 
257 
258 
258 
259 
261 
261 
262 
263 
264 
265 
266 
268 
284 
284 
290 
294 
298 
305 
309 
314 

327 
335 
343 



TO THE TEACHER 

An earnest teaching of this book will, we believe, add to 
the attractiveness of your course of study. Do not hesi- 
tate to enter heartily into the new subject. To teach agri- 
culture you need not feel that you must be an authority 
on all questions arising in this broad field. To teach some 
agriculture one need not know all agriculture. If you 
know even a few valuable facts, methods, or principles 
that will make life on the farm easier, that will make the 
farm more beautiful, more productive, and more profitable, 
you will be doing good by imparting these methods and 
these principles. 

Lead the pupils out into the field, make simple experi- 
ments before them, and have them also perform experiments. 
Let them learn directly from nature : a fact gained at first 
hand will linger in the mind long after mere second-hand 
book knowledge has departed. Teach by observation and 
experiment. The young mind grasps the concrete but 
wearies with the abstract. 

You will find in the practical exercises many sugges- 
tions as to experiments that you can make with your class. 
Do not neglect these. They will be the life of your work. 
In many cases it will be best to perform the experimental 
or observational work first, and turn to the text later to 
amplify the pupil's knowledge. 



xii TO THE PUPIL 

Although the authors have arranged this book in a 
logical order, they hope that teachers will feel free to teach 
each topic in the season best suited to its study. 



TO THE PUPIL 

Consult the glossary in the back of this book for the 
meanings of all hard words. 

Try to get for your school library every farm bulletin 
issued by the United States Department of Agriculture 
and as many bulletins as possible from different State 
Experiment Stations. These bulletins cost nothing and 
are mines of practical and interesting information. 

Perform all the suggested experiments for yourself. 
Do not be content to watch your teacher or your fellow- 
students perform these experiments. First-hand work 
gives expertness, accuracy, interest, knowledge, power. 

Above all, learn of nature. At first she is a shy and 
silent teacher, but on better acquaintance she will talk to 
you in many tongues. 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

CHAPTER I 

THE SOIL 

SECTION I— ORIGIN OF THE SOIL 

The word soil occurs many times in this httle book. 
In its agricultural sense this word is used to describe the 
thin layer of surface earth that, like some great blanket, 
is tucked around the wrinkled and age-beaten form of our 
globe. The harder and colder earth under this surface 
layer is called the subsoil. It should be remembered, 
however, that in waterless and sun-dried countries there 
seems little difference between the soil and the subsoil. 

Plants, insects, birds, beasts, men, — all alike are fed on 
what grows in this thin layer of soil. If some wild flood 
in sudden wrath could sweep into the ocean this earth- 
wrapping soil, food would soon become as scarce as it was 
in Samaria when mothers boiled and ate their sons. The 
face of the earth as we now see it daintily robed in grass, 
or uplifting waving acres of corn, or even naked, water- 
scarred, and disfigured by man's neglect, is very different 
from what it was in its earliest days. How was it then ? 
How did the soil originate.-* 



2 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Learned men believe that at first the surface of the 
earth was solid rock. How were these rocks changed 
into workable soil? Occasionally a curious boy picks up 
a rotten stone, squeezes it, and finds his hands filled with 
dirt, or soil. Now, just as the boy crumbled with his 
fingers this single stone, the great forces of nature with 
boundless patience crumbled, or, as it is called, disinte- 
grated, the early rock mass. These simple but giant- 
strong agents that beat the rocks into powder with a club- 
like force a million fold more powerful than the club force 
of Hercules were chiefly: (i) heat and cold; (2) water, frost, 
and ice ; (3) a very low form of vegetable life ; and (4) tiny 
animals, if such minute bodies can be called animals. In 
some cases these forces acted singly; in others, all acted 
together to rend and crumble the unbroken stretch of rock. 
Let us glance at some of the methods used by these skilled 
world makers. 

Heat and cold are working partners. You remember that 
most hot bodies shrink, or contract, on cooling. These early 
rocks were hot. As the outside shell of rock cooled from 
exposure to air and moisture, it contracted. . This shrink- 
age of the rigid rim, of course, broke many of the rocks, 
and here and there left cracks, or fissures. In these fis- 
sures water collected, froze, and, as freezing water expands 
with irresistible power, the expansion still further broke 
the rocks to pieces. The smaller pieces again, in the 
same way, were acted upon by frost and ice, and again 
crumbled. This process has continued more or less until 
this day. 

Running water was another giant soil former. If you 
would understand its action, observe some usually sparkling 



THE SOIL 3 

stream just after a washing rain. The clear waters are 
uglied and discolored by mud washed in from the surround- 
ing hills. As though disliking their muddy burden, the 
waters strive to throw it off. Here, as low banks offer 
chance, they run out into shallows and drop some of 
it. Here, as they pass some quiet pool, they deposit 
more. At last they reach the still water at the mouth, 




Fig. I. Ruck marked by the Scraping of a 
Glacier over it 



and there they shake off the last of their mud load, and 
often form of it little islands, or deltas. In the same way, 
bearing acres of soil in their waters, mighty rivers like 
the Amazon, the Mississippi, and the Hudson, when they 
are swollen by rain, sweep to the seas. Some soil they 
scatter over the lowlands as they whirl seaward ; the rest 
they deposit in deltas at their mouths. It is estimated 
that the Mississippi carries to the ocean each year enough 



4 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

soil to cover a square mile of surface to a depth of two 
hundred and sixty-eight feet. 

The early brooks and rivers, instead of bearing mud, 
ran oceanward bearing ground stone that either they them- 
selves had worn from the rocks by ceaseless fretting, or 
bearing stones that other forces had dislodged from parent 
nest. The large pieces were whirled from side to side, 
beaten against one another, or against bed rock, until they 
were ground finer. The rivers distributed this rock soil just 
as the later rivers distribute muddy soil. Year after year 
for ages the moving waters ground against the rocks. Vast 
were the waters ; vast the number of years ; vast the results. 

Glaciers were another soil-producing agent. Glaciers, 
as Stockbridge says, are but " streams frozen and moving 
slowly but irresistibly onwards, down well-defined valleys, 
grinding and pulverizing the rock masses detached by the 
force and weight of their onslaught." Where and how 
were these glaciers formed .'' 

Once a great part of upper North America was a vast 
sheet of ice. Whatever moisture fell from the sky fell 
as snow. No one knows what made this long winter of 
snow, but we do know that snows piled on snows until 
mountainlike masses reared their heads above the rocks. 
The lower snow was by the pressure of the upper packed 
into ice masses. By and by some change of climate caused 
these masses of ice to break up somewhat and to move to 
the south and west. These moving masses, carrying rock 
and frozen earth, ground them to powder. King thus 
describes the stately movement of these snow mountains : 
"Beneath the bottom of this slowly moving sheet of pressure- 
plastic ice, which with more or less difficulty kept itself 



THE SOIL 



5 



conformable with the face of the land over which it was 
riding, the sharper outstanding points were cut away and 
the deeper river canons filled in. Desolate and rugged rocky 
wastes were thrown down and spread over with rich soil." 

The joint action of air, moisture, and frost was still 
another agent of soil making. This action is called weath- 
ering. Whenever you have noticed the outside rocks of a 
spring house, you have noticed that tiny bits are crumbling 




Fig. 2. Ground Rock at End of a Glacier 

from the face of the rocks, and adding little by little to the 
soil. This is a slow way of making additions to the soil. It 
is estimated that it would take 728,000 years to wear away 
limestone rock to a depth of thirty-nine inches. But when 
you recall the countless years through which the weather 
has striven against the rocks, you can readily understand that 
its never-wearying activity has added immensely to the soil. 
In the rock soil formed in these various ways, and 
indeed on the rocks themselves, tiny plants that live on 



6 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

food taken from the air began to grow. They grew just 
as you now see mosses and lichens grow on the surface 
of rocks. The decay of these plants added some fertility 
to the newly formed soil. The life and death of each suc- 
ceeding generation of these lowly plants added to the soil 
matter accumulating on the rocks. Slowly but unceas- 
ingly the depth of soil increased until higher vegetable 
forms could flourish and add their dead bodies to the 
deepening soil. This vegetable addition to the soil is 
generally known as Jmmns. 

In due course of time low forms of animal life came to 
live on these plants, and in turn by their work and their 
death to aid in making a soil fit for the plowman. 

Thus with a deliberation that fills man with awe, the 
powerful forces of nature splintered the rocks, crumbled 
them like a potter's vessel, filled them with plant food, and 
turned their flinty grains into a soft, snug home for vege- 
table life. 

SECTION n— TILLAGE OF THE SOIL 

A good many years ago there lived in England a man 
by the name of Jethro Tull, He was a farmer and a most 
successful man in every way. 

His claim to fame comes from his teaching the English 
people and the world the value of thorough tillage of the 
soil. Before and during his time, farmers did not till 
the soil very intelligently. They simply prepared the 
seed bed in a careless manner, as a great many farmers 
do to-day, and when the crops were gathered the yields 
were not large. 



THE SOIL 7 

Jethro Tull centered attention on the important fact that 
careful and thorough tillage increases the available plant food 
in the soil. He did not know why his crops were better 
when they were frequently and thoroughly tilled : but he 




Fig. 3. Slope to Water shows Soil weathered from 
Face of Cliff 



knew the fact. He explained the fact by saying that " tillage 
is manure." We have since learned the reason for the truth 
that Tull taught, and, while his explanation was incorrect, the 
practice that he was following was excellent. The stirring 



8 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



of the soil enables the air to circulate through it freely, and 
permits a breaking down of the complex compounds that 
contain the elements necessary to plant growth. 

You have seen how the air helps to crumble the stone 
and brick in old buildings. It does the same with soil if 
permitted to circulate freely through it. The agent of the 
air that chiefly performs this work is called carbonic acid 




Fig. 4. A BoU-Ntifll Ckup hy Tillage alune 

gas, and this gas is one of the greatest helpers the farmer 
has in carrying on his work. We must not forget that in 
soil preparation the air is just as important as any of the 
tools and implements used in cultivation. 

For most soils a two-horse plow is necessary to break 
up and pulverize the land. 

If the soil is fertile and if deep plowing has always been 
done, good crops will result, other conditions being favor- 
able. If, however, the tillage is poor, scanty harvests will 
always result. 



THE SOIL 9 

A shallow soil can always be improved by properly 
deepening it. The principle of greatest importance in soil 
preparation is the gradual deepening of the soil in order 
that plant roots may have more comfortable homes. If the 
farmer has been accustomed to plow but four inches deep, 
he should adjust the plow so as to turn five inches at the 
next plowing, then six, and so on until the seed bed is nine 
or ten inches deep. This gradual deepening will not injure 
the soil but will put it quickly in good physical condition. 
If to good tillage rotation of crops be added, the soil will 
become more fertile with each succeeding year. 

The plow, harrow, and roller are all necessary to good 
tillage and a proper preparation of the seed bed. The soil 
must be compact and clods of all sizes crushed. Then the 
air circulates freely, and paying crops are the rule and not 
the exception. 

Tillage does these things : It increases the plant-food 
supply, destroys weeds, and influences the moisture content 
of the soil. 

EXERCISE 

1. What tools are used in tillage.'' 

2. Why should a poor and shallow soil be plowed shallow ? 

3. Why should a poor and shallow soil be well compacted before 
sowing the crop ? 

4. Explain the value of a circulation of air in the soil. 

5. What causes iron to rust? 

6. Why is a two-horse turning plow better than a one-horse plow ? 

7. Where will clods do the least harm, — on top of the soil or 
below the surface ? 

8. Do plant roots penetrate clods ? 

9. Are earthworms a benefit or an injury to the soil ? 
10. Name three things that a plow does. 



lO AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

SECTION III — THE MOISTURE OF THE SOIL 

Did any one ever explain to you how important water is 
to the soil or tell you why it is so important ? Often, as 
you know, crops entirely fail because there is not enough 
water in the soil for the plants to drink. How necessary 
is it, then, that the soil be kept in the best possible con- 
dition to catch and hold enough water to carry the plant 
through dry, hot spells ! Perhaps you are ready to ask, 
" How does the mouthless plant drink its stored-up water? " 

The plant gets all its water through its roots. You 
have seen the tiny fibrous roots of a plant spreading all 
about in fine soil ; they are down in the ground taking up 
plant food and water for the stalk and leaves above. The 
water, carrying plant food with it, rises, by means of a 
peculiar process, through roots and stems. 

The plants use the food for building new tissue, that is, 
for growth. The water passes out through the leaves into 
the air. When the summers are dry and hot and there 
is but little water in the soil, the leaves shrink up. This 
is simply a method they have of keeping the water from 
passing rapidly off into the air. I am sure you have seen 
the corn stalks all shriveled on very hot days. This 
shrinkage is nature's way of diminishing the current of 
water that is steadily passing through the plant. 

A thrifty farmer will try to keep his soil in such good 
condition that it will have a supply of water in it for growing 
crops when dry and hot weather comes. He can do this 
by deep plowing, by subsoiling, by adding any kind of 
decaying vegetable matter to the soil, and by growing 
crops that can be tilled frequently. 



12 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



The soil is a great storehouse for moisture. After the 
clouds have emptied their waters into this storehouse, the 
water of the soil comes to the surface, where it is evapo- 
rated into the air. The water comes to the surface in just 
the same way that oil rises in a lamp wick. This rising 
of the water is called capillarity. 

It is necessary to understand what is meant by this big 
word. If into a pan of water you dip a glass tube, the 
water inside the tube rises above 
the level of the water in the pan. 
The smaller the tube the higher 
will the water rise. The greater 
rise inside is perhaps due to the fact 
that the glass attracts the particles 
of water more than the particles of 
water attract one another. Now 
apply this principle to the soil. 

The soil particles have small 
spaces between them, and these 
spaces act just as the tube does. 
When the water at the surface is 
carried away by drying winds and warmth, the water deeper 
in the soil rises through these soil spaces. In this way 
water is brought from its soil storehouse as plants need it. 
Of course, when this water reaches the surface, it evap- 
orates. If we want to keep it for our crops, we must 
prepare a trap to hold it. Nature has shown us how this 
. can be done. Pick up a plank lying on the ground. Under 
the-plahk the soil is wet, while the soil not covered by the 
plank is dry. Why.? Capillarity brought the water to the 
surface. The plank, however, keeping away wind and 




Fig. 6. An Enlarged 
View of a Section 
OF Moist Soil show- 
ing Air Spaces and 
Soil Particles 



THE SOIL 



13 



warmth, acted as a trap to hold the moisture. Now of course 
a farmer cannot set a trap of planks over his fields, but he 
can make a trap of dry earth, and that will do just as well. 
When a crop like corn or cotton or potatoes is cultivated, 
the fine, loose dirt stirred by the cultivating plow will make a 




Fig. 7. Apparatus for testing Retention of Water by 
Different Soils 



mulch that serves to keep water in the soil in the same way 
the plank kept moisture under it. The mulch helps to ab- 
sorb the rains and prevents the water from running off the 
surface. Frequent cultivation, then, is one of the best pos- 
sible ways of saving moisture. Hence the farmer who most 
frequently stirs his soil in the growing season, and espe- 
cially in seasons of drought, reaps, other things being equal, 
a more abundant harvest than if tillage were neglected. 



14 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



EXERCISE 

1. Why is the soil wet under a board or under straw? 

2. Will a soil that is fine and compact produce better crops than 
one that is loose and cloddy? Why ? 

3. Since the water which a plant uses comes through the roots, can 
the morning dew afford any assistance ? 

4. Why are weeds objectionable in a growing crop ? 

5. Why does the farmer cultivate growing corn and cotton ? 



SECTION IV— HOW THE WATER RISES IN THE SOIL 

When the hot, dry days of summer come, the soil depends 
upon the subsoil, or undersoil, for the moisture that it 
must furnish its growing plants. The water was stored 

in the soil during 
the fall, winter, and 
spring months when 
there was plenty of 
rain. If you dig 
down into the soil 
when everything is 
dry and hot, you will 
reach the cool, moist 
undersoil. It be- 
comes more moist as 
you go deeper into 
the soil. 

Now the roots of plants go down into the soil for this 
moisture, because they need the water to carry the plant 
food up into the stems and leaves. 




Fig. 8. 



Using Lamp Chimneys to show 
Rise of Water in Soil 



THE SOIL 15 

You can see how the water rises in the soil by perform- 
ing a simple experiment. 

EXPERIMENT 

Take a lamp chimney and fill it with dry, fine dirt. The dirt 
from a road or a field will do. Tie over the bottom of the lamp 
chimney a piece of cloth or a pocket handkerchief, and place this 
end in a shallow pan of water. If the soil in the lamp chimney is 
clay and well packed, the water will quickly rise to the top. 

By filling three or four lamp chimneys with as many different soils, 
the pupil will see that the water rises more slowly in some than in 
others. 

Now take the water pans away, and the water in the lamp chim- 
neys will gradually evaporate. Study for a few days the effect of 
this evaporation on the several soils. 



SECTION V — DRAINING THE SOIL 

A wise man was once asked, "What is the most valu- 
able improvement ever made in agriculture.'* " He answered, 
" Drainage." Often soils unfit for crop production because 
of the free water in them are by drainage rendered the 
most valuable of farming land. 

The benefits of drainage are as follows : 

1. It deepens the subsoil by removing unnecessary water 
from the spaces between the soil particles. This admits 
air. Then the oxygen which is in the air, by aiding decay, 
prepares plant food for vegetation. 

2. It makes the surface, or topsoil, deeper. It stands 
to reason that the deeper the soil the more plant food 
becomes available for plant use. 



i6 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



3. It improves the texture of the soil. Wet soil is sticky. 
Drainage makes this sticky soil crumble and fall apart. 

4. It prevents washing. 

5. It increases the porosity of soils and permits roots to 
go deeper into the soil for food and moisture. 

6. It increases the warmth of the soil. 

7. It permits earlier working in spring and after rains. 




Fig. 



Layinc; a Tile Drain 



8. It favors the growth of germs which change the 
unavailable nitrogen of the soil into nitrates ; that is, into 
the form most useful to plants. 

9. It enables plants to resist drouth better because the 
roots go into the ground deeper early in the season. 

A soil that is hard and wet will not grow good crops. 
The nitrogen-gathering crops will store the greatest quan- 
tity of nitrogen in the soil when the soil is open to the 



THE SOIL 



17 



free circulation of the air. These valuable crops cannot 
do this when the soil is wet and cold. 

Sandy soils with sandy subsoils do not need artificial 
drainage ; these soils are naturally drained. With clay soils 
it is different. It is very important to remove the stagnant 
water in them and to let the air in. 

When land has been properly drained, the other steps in 
improvement are easily taken. When soil is dried and 




Fig. 10. A Tile in Position 

mellowed by proper drainage, then commercial fertilizers, 
barnyard manure, cowpeas and clover can each most readily 
do its great work of improving the texture of the soil and 
of making it a cosy home for plants to grow in. 

Tile Drains. Tile drains are the best and cheapest that 
can be used. It would not be too strong to say that 
draining by tiles is the perfection of drainage. Thou^ 
sands of practical tests in this country have demonstrated 
the value of tile draining for the following reasons : 



l8 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

1. Good tile drains properly laid last for years and do 
not fill up. 

2. They furnish the cheapest possible means of removing 
excess of water from the soil. 

3. They are out of reach of all cultivating tools. 

4. Surface water in filtering through the soil leaves its 
nutritious elements for plant growth. 

EXPERIMENTS 

To show the Effect of Drainage. Take two tomato cans and fill 
both with the same kind of soil. Puncture several holes in the bottom 
of one to drain the soil above and to admit air circulation. Leave the 
other unpunctured. Plant seeds of any kind in both cans and keep in 
a warm place. Add every third day equal quantities of water. Let 
seeds grow in both and observe the difference in growth for two or 
three weeks. 

To show the Effect of Air in Soils. Take two tomato cans ; fill 
one with soil that is loose and warm, and the other with wet clay or 
muck from a swampy field. Plant a few seeds of the same kind in 
each and observe how much better the dry, warm, open soil is for 
growing farm crops. 



SECTION VI — IMPROVING THE SOIL 

We hear a great deal nowadays about the exhaustion or 
wearing out of the soil. Many uncomfortable people are 
always declaring that our lands will no longer produce 
profitable crops, and hence that farming will no longer pay. 

Now it is true, unfortunately, that much land has been 
robbed of its fertility, and, because this is true, we should 
be deeply interested in everything that pertains to soil 
improvement. 



THE SOIL 19 

When our country was first discovered and trees were 
growing everywhere, we had virgin soils, or new soils that 
were rich and productive because they were filled with 
vegetable matter and plant food. There are not many 
virgin soils now because the trees have been cut off the 
best lands, and these lands have been farmed so long 




Fig. II. Clover is a Soil Improver 

without much attention that . the vegetable matter and 
available plant food have been largely used up. Now that 
fresh land is scarce, it is very necessary to restore fertility 
to these exhausted lands. What are some of the ways 
in which this can be done .-' 

There are several things to be done in trying to reclaim 
worn-out land. One of the first of these is to till the land 



20 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

well. Many of you may have heard the story of the dying 
father who called his sons about him and whispered feebly, 
" There is great treasure hidden in the garden." The sons 
could hardly wait to bury their dead father before, thud, 
thud, thud, their picks were going in the garden. Day 
after day they dug ; they dug deep ; they dug wide. Not 
a foot of the crop-worn garden escaped the probing of 
the pick as the sons feverishly searched for the expected 
treasure. But no treasure was found. 

" Let us not lose every whit of our labor ; let us plant this 
pick-scarred garden," said the eldest. So the garden was 
planted. In the fall the hitherto poor garden yielded a har- 
vest so bountiful, so unexpected, that the meaning of their 
father's words dawned upon them. " Truly," they said, " a 
treasure was hidden there. Let us seek it in all our fields." 

The story applies as well to-day as it did when it was 
first told. Thorough culture of the soil, frequent and intelli- 
gent tillage, — these are the foundations of soil restoration. 

Along with good tillage must go hillside ditches, or 
terraces, and good drainage. The ditches, or terraces, are 
to prevent heavy rains from washing the soil and carrying 
away plant food. Drainage is to act with good tillage in 
allowing air to circulate between the soil particles and to 
arrange plant food so that plants can use it. 

Then we must add humus, or vegetable matter, to the 
soil. You remember that virgin soils contained a great 
deal of vegetable matter and plant food, but by the con- 
tinuous growing of crops like wheat, corn, and cotton, and 
by constant shallow tillage, both humus and plant food have 
been used up. Consequently much of our cultivated soil 
to-day is hard and dead. 



THE SOIL 



21 



There are three ways of adding humus and plant food to 
this Hfeless land : the first way is to apply barnyard manure 
(to adopt this method means that livestock raising must be 
a part of all farming) ; the second way is to adopt rotation 




Fig. 12 

Feeding swine on this worn-out field and then tilling it made the 
field productive 

of crops, and occasionally to plow under crops like clover and 
cowpeas ; the third way is to apply commercial fertilizers. 
Then, to summarize: if we want to make our soil better 
year by year, we must cultivate well, drain well, and in the 
most economical way add humus and plant food. 



22 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



EXPERIMENT 

Select a small area of ground at your home and divide it into four 
sections, as shown in the following sketch : 

On Section A apply barnyard manure ; on Section B apply com- 
mercial fertilizers ; on Section C apply nothing, but till well ; on Section 

D apply nothing, and till very poorly. 

A^ B, and C should all be thoroughly 
plowed and harrowed. Then add barn- 
yard manure to A, commercial fertil- 
izers to B, and harrow A, B^ and C at 
least four times until the soil is mellow 
and fine. D will most likely be cloddy, 
like many fields that we often see. 
Now plant on each plat some crop like 
cotton, corn, or wheat. When the plats 
are ready to harvest, measure the yield 
of eacli and determine whether the in- 
creased yield of the best plats has paid 
for the outlay for tillage and manure. 
The pupil will be much interested in 
the results obtained from the first crop. 
Now follow a system of crop rotation on the plats. Clover can 
follow corn or cotton or wheat ; and cowpeas, wheat. Then deter- 
mine the yield of each plat for this second crop. By following these 
plats for several years, and increasing the number, the pupils will learn 
many things of greatest value. 



A 


D 






C 


D 



Fig. 13 



SECTION VII — MANURING THE SOIL 

In the early days of our history when the soil was new 
and rich, we were not compelled to use large amounts of 
manures and fertilizers. Yet our histories speak of an 
Indian named Squanto who came into one of the New Eng- 
land colonies and showed the colonists how, by planting a 
fish in each hill of corn, they could obtain larger yields. 



THE SOIL 



23 



If people, in those clays with new and fertile soils, could 
use manures profitably, how much more ought we to use 
them in our time when soils have lost their virgin fertility, 
when the plant food in the soil has been exhausted by years 
and years of cropping ! 

To sell year after year all the produce grown on land is 
a sure way to ruin it. If, for example, the richest land is 
planted every year in corn, and no stable or farmyard 
manure or other fertilizer returned to the soil, the land 
so treated will of course 
soon become too poor to 
grow any crop. If, on 
the other hand, clover 
or alfalfa or corn or cot- 
ton-seed meal is fed to 
stock, and the manure 
from the stock returned 
to the soil, the land will 
be kept rich. Hence 
those farmers who sell, 
not such raw products as 
cotton, corn, wheat, oats, 
clover, but who market articles made from these raw prod- 
ucts, find it easier to keep their land fertile. For illustration : 
if instead of selling hay, farmers feed it to sheep and sell 
wool; if instead of selling cotton seed, they feed its meal 
to cows, and sell milk and butter ; if instead of selling 
stover, they feed it to beef cattle, they get a good price 
for products and in addition have all the manure needed 
to keep their land productive and increase its value each 
succeeding year. 




Fig. 14. Relation of Humus to 
Growth of Corn 

(i) clay subsoil; (2) same, with fertilizer; 
(3) same, with humus 



24 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

If we wish to keep up the fertility of our lands, we 
should not allow anything to be lost from our farms. All 
the manures, straw, roots, stubble, healthy vines — in fact 
everything decomposable, should be plowed under or used 
as a top dressing. Especial care should be taken in stor- 
ing manure. It should be carefully protected from sun 
and rain If a farmer has no shed under which to keep 
his manure, he should scatter the manure on his fields 
as' fast as it is made. 

He should understand also that liquid manure is of more 
value than solid, because that important plant food, nitro- 
gen, is found almost wholly in the liquid portion. Some 
of the phosphoric acid and considerable amounts of the 
potash are also found in the liquid manure. Hence econ- 
omy requires that none of this escape either by leakage or 
by fermentation in the stables.. Sometimes one can detect 
the smell of ammonia in the stable. This ammonia is formed 
by the decomposition of the liquid manure, and its loss 
should be checked by sprinkling some floats, acid phosphate, 
or muck over the stable floor. 

On many farms it is desirable to buy fertilizers to sup- 
plement the manure made upon the farm. In this case 
it is helpful to understand the composition, source, and 
availability of the various substances composing commercial 
fertilizers. The three most valuable things in commercial 
fertilizers are nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid. 

The nitrogen is obtained from (i) nitrate of soda mined 
in Chile, from (2) ammonium sulphate — a by-product of the 
gas works, from (3) dried blood and other by-products of 
the slaughter-houses, and from (4) cotton-seed meal. Nitrate 
of soda is soluble in water and may therefore be washed away 



THE SOIL 



25 



before being used by plants. For this reason it should be 

applied in small quantities and at intervals of a few weeks. 

Potash is obtained in Germany, where it is found in 

several forms. It is put upon the market as muriate of 




Fig. 15. The Cotton Plant with and without Food 

In left top pot, no plant food ; in left bottom pot, plant food scanty ; in both 
right pots, all elements of plant food present 

potash, sulphate of potash, kainit, which contains salt as 
an impurity, and in other impure forms. Potash is found 
also in unleached wood ashes. 

Phosphoric acid is found in various rocks of Tennessee, 
Florida, and South Carolina, and also to a large extent in 



26 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

bones. The rocks or bones are usually treated with sul- 
phuric acid. This treatment changes the phosphoric acid 
into a form available for plant use. 

These three kinds of plant food are ordinarily all that 
we need to supply. In some cases, however, lime has to 
be added. Besides being a plant food itself, lime acts 
beneficially on most soils by improving their physical 
structure ; by sweetening the soil, thereby aiding the 
little living germs called bacteria ; by hastening the decay 
of organic matter; and by liberating the potash that is 
locked up in the soil. 



CHAPTER II 
THE SOIL AND THE PLANT 



SECTION VIII — ROOTS 

You have perhaps observed the regularity of arrange- 
ment in twigs and branches. Now pull up the roots of 
some plant, as for example sheep sorrel, Jimson weed, or 
some other plant. Note the branching 
of the roots. In these there is no such 
regularity as is seen in the twig. Trace 
the rootlets to their finest tips. How 
small, slender, and delicate they are ! 
Still we do not see the finest of them, 
for in taking the plant from the ground 
we tore them away. In order to see 
the real construction of a root we must 
grow one so that we may examine it 
uninjured. To do this, sprout some 
oats in a germinator and allow them to 
grow till they are two or more inches 
high. Now examine the roots and you 
will see very fine hairs, similar to those 
shown in the accompanying figure, 
forming a fuzz over the surface of the roots near the tips. 
This fuzz is made of small hairs standing so close together 
that there are often as many as 38,200 on a single square 

27 




Root Hairs 
Radish 



28 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 




Fig. 



17. A Slice of 
A Root 

Highly magnified 



inch. Fig. 17 shows a cross section, or sliced-off portion 
of a root, very highly magnified. You can see how the 
root hairs extend from the root in every direction. Fig. 18 
shows a single root hair very greatly 
enlarged, with particles of sand 
sticking to it. 

These hairs are the root's feeding 
organs, and they are formed only 
very near the tips of the finest roots. 
You see that the large, coarse roots 
that you are familiar with have 
nothing to do with absorbing plant 
food from the soil. They serve merely 
to conduct the sap and nourishment 
from the root hairs to the tree. 
When you apply manure or other fertil- 
izer to the tree, remember that it is far 
better to supply the fertilizer to the roots 
that are at some distance from the trunk, 
for such roots are the real feeders. The 
plant food in the manure soaks into the 
soil and immediately reaches the root hairs. 
You can understand this better by study- 
ing the distribution of the roots of an 
orchard tree, shown in Fig. 19. There 
you can see that the fine tips are found 
at a long distance from the main trunk. 

You can now readily see why it is that 
plants usually wilt when they are transplanted. The fine, 
delicate root hairs are then broken off, and the plant can 
keep up its food and water supply but poorly until new hairs 




Fig. 18. A Root 
Hair with Par- 
ticles OF Soil 

STICKING TO IT 



THE SOIL AND THE PLANT 



29 



have been formed. While these are forming, water has 
been evaporating from the leaves, and consequently the 
plant is insufficiently supplied, and droops. 

Would you not conclude that it is very poor farming to 
till deeply any crop after the roots have extended between 



Loam 



Gravel 



Clay 
Gravel 



Clay 



Clay and Gravel 
Ground Water 




Fig. 19. Distribution of Apple-Tree Roots 

the rows far enough to be disturbed by the plow or culti- 
vator ? In cultivating between corn rows, for example, if 
you find that you are disturbing fine roots, you may be 
sure that you are breaking off millions of root hairs from 
each plant, and hence are doing harm rather than good. 
Fig. 20 shows how the roots from one corn row intertangle 



30 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



with those of another. You see at a glance how many of 
these roots would be destroyed by deep cultivation. Stir- 
ring the upper inch of soil when the plants are well grown 




Fig. 20. 



Corn Roots reach from 
Row to Row 



answers the ends of tillage and 
does no injury to the roots. 

A deep soil is much better than 
a shallow soil, as its depth makes 
it just so much easier for the roots 
to seek deep food. Fig. 2 1 illus- 
trates well how far down into the 
soil the alfalfa roots go. 

EXERCISE 




Fig. 21 
Alfalf.\ Root 



Dig up the roots of several cultivated plants and weeds and com- 
pare them. Do you find some that are fine or fibrous? some fleshy 
like the carrot? The dandelion is a good example of a tap root. 
Tap roots are deep feeders. Examine very carefully the roots of a 
medium-sized corn plant. Sift the dirt away very gently so as to 



THE SOIL AND THE PLANT 



31 



loosen as few roots as possible. How do the roots compare in area 
with the part above the ground ? Try to trace a single root of the 
corn plant from the stalk to its very tip. How long are the roots of 
mature plants ? Are they deep or shallow feeders ? Germinate some 
oats or beans in a moist chamber as suggested and observe the root 
hairs. 

SECTION IX — HOW A PLANT FEEDS FROM THE SOIL 

Plants receive their nourishment from two sources, — from 
the air and from the soil. The soil food, or mineral food, 
must, dissolved in water, reach the plant through the root 
hairs, with which all plants are provided in great numbers. 
Each of these hairs may be compared 
to a finger reaching among the par- 
ticles of earth for food and water. 
If we examine the root hairs ever so 
closely, we find no holes, or openings, 
in them. It is evident that no solid 
particles can enter the root hairs. 
All food must then pass into the 
root in solution. 

An experiment just here will help 
us to understand how a root feeds. 
Secure a narrow glass tube like the 
one in Fig. 22. If you cannot get 
a tube, a narrow, straight lamp chim- 
ney will, with a little care, do nearly 
as well. Cut from a bladder made soft by soaking, a piece 
large enough to cover the end of the tube or chimney and 
to hang over a little all around. Make the piece of blad- 
der secure to the end of the tube by wrapping tightly 
with a waxed thread, as at B. Partly fill the tube with 




Fig. 22. Experiment 
TO SHOW HOW Roots 
TAKE UP Food 



32 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

molasses (or it may be easier in case you use a narrow tube 
to fill it before attaching the bladder). Put the tube into 
a jar or bottle of water so placed that the level of the 
molasses inside and the water outside will be the same. 
Fasten the tube in this position, and observe it frequently 
for three or four hours. At the end of the time you should 
find that the molasses in the tube has risen above the level 
of the liquid outside. It may even overflow at the top. If 
you use the lamp chimney, the rise will not be so clearly 
seen, since a greater volume is required to fill the space in 
the chimney. This increase in the contents of the tube is 
due to the entrance of water from the outside. The water 
has passed through the thin bladder, or membrane, and has 
come to occupy space in the tube. There is also a passage 
the other way, but the molasses can pass through the bladder 
membrane so slowly that the passage is scarcely noticeable. 
There are no holes, or openings, in the membrane, but still 
there is a free passage of liquids in both directions, although 
the more heavily laden solution must move more slowly. 

A root hair acts in much the same way as the tube in 
our experiment, with the exception that it is so made as to 
allow certain substances to pass in only one direction, that 
is, toward the inside. The outside of the root hair is bathed 
in solutions rich in nourishment. The nourishment passes 
from the outside to the inside through the delicate membrane 
of the root hair. Thus does food enter the plant root. From 
the root hairs, foods are carried to the inside of the root. 

From this you can see how important it is for a plant to 
have fine loose soil for its root hairs ; also how necessary 
is the water in the soil, since the food can be used only 
when it is dissolved in water. 



THE SOIL AND THE PLANT 



33 



This passage of liquids from one side of a membrane to 
another is called osviosis, and has many uses in the plant 



kingdom. 



We say a root takes nourishment by osmosis. 



SECTION X — ROOT TUBERCLES 

Tubercle is a big word, but you ought to know how to 
pronounce it and what is meant by root tubercles. 

We are going to tell you what a root tubercle is and 
something about its importance to agriculture. When you 
have learned this, we are 
sure you will want to 
examine some plants for 
yourself in order that you 
may see just what tuber- 
cles look like on a real 
root. 

Root tubercles do not 
form on all plants that 
farmers grow. They are 
formed only on those 
kinds that botanists call 
legumes. The clovers, 
cowpeas, vetches, and 
alfalfa are all legumes. 
The tubercles are little 
knotty, wartlike growths Fig. 23. Tubercles on the Roots 

,1 , r ,1 1 , OF A COWPEA 

on the roots of the plants 

just named. These tubercles are caused by bacteria, or 

germs, as they are sometimes called. 




34 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 




Instead of living in nests in trees like birds or in the 
ground like moles and worms, these tiny germs, less than 
one twenty-five thousandth of an inch long, make their 
homes on the roots of these plants. Nestling snugly 
together, they live, grow, and multiply in their sunless 
homes. Through their activity the soil is enriched by the 

addition of much nitro- 
gen from the air. They 
are the good fairies of 
the farmer, and no 
magician's wand ever 
blessed a land as much 
as these invisible folk 
bless the land that they 
live in. 

Just as bees gather 
honey from the flowers, 
and carry it to the hives 
where they prepare it 
for their own future 
use and for the use of 
others, so do these root 
tubercles gather nitro- 
gen from the air and fix 
it in their root homes, where it can be used by other crops. 
You were told something in the earlier pages of this 
book about the food of plants. One of the main elements 
of plant food, perhaps you remember, is nitrogen. Just 
as soon as the roots of the leguminous plants begin to 
push down into the soil, the bacteria, or germs that make 
the tubercles, begin to build their homes on the roots, and 



Fig. 24. SojA Beans and Cowpeas, 
Two Great Soil Improvers 



THE SOIL AND THE PLANT 35 

in so doing they add nitrogen to the soil. You now see 
the importance of growing such crops as peas and clover 
on your land, for by their active aid you can constantly 
add plant food to the soil. Now this much needed nitrogen 
is the most costly part of the fertilizers that farmers buy 
every year. If every farmer, then, would grow these 
tubercle-bearing crops, he would rapidly add to the rich- 
ness of his land and at the same time he would also escape 
the necessity of buying so much expensive fertilizer, 

EXPERIMENT 

Take a spade or shovel and dig carefully around the roots of a 
cowpea and a clover plant; loosen the earth thoroughly and then pull 
them up, being careful not to break off any of the roots. Now wash 
the roots, and after they become dry count the nodules, or tubercles, 
on the roots. Observe the difference in size. How are they arranged ? 
Do all leguminous plants have equal numbers of nodules.? How do 
these nodules help the farmer? 



SECTION XI— THE ROTATION OF CROPS 

I am sure you know what is meant by rotation, for your 
teacher has explained to you already how the earth rotates, 
or turns, on its axis and revolves around the sun. When 
we speak of crop rotation, we mean not only that the same 
crop should not be planted on the same land for two suc- 
cessive years but that crops should follow one another in 
a regular order. 

Many farmers do not follow a system of farming that 
invoh^es a change of crops. In some parts of the country 
the same fields are put to corn or wheat or cotton year 



36 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

after year. This is not a good practice and sooner or later 
will wear out the soil completely, because the soil elements 
that furnish the food of that constant crop are soon exhausted 
and good crop production is no longer possible. 

Why is crop rotation so necessary ? There are different 
kinds of plant food in the soil. If any one of these is used 
up, the soil of course loses its power to feed plants properly. 




Fig. 25. Grass following Corn 

Now each crop uses more of some of these different kinds 
of foods than others do, just as you like some kinds of 
food better than others. The crop, however, cannot, as 
you can, learn to use the kinds of food it does not like : 
it must use the kind that nature fitted it to use. Not only 
do different crops feed upon different soil foods, but they 
use different quantities of these foods. 



THE SOIL AND THE PLANT 37 

Now if a farmer plant the same crop in the same field each 
year, that crop soon uses up all of the available plant food 
that it likes. Hence the soil can no longer properly nour- 
ish the crop that has been year by year robbing it. If that 
crop is to be successfully grown again upon the land, the 
exhausted element must be restored. 

This can be done in two ways : first, by finding out 
what element has been exhausted and then by restoring 
this element either by means of commercial fertilizers or 
manure; second, by planting on the land crops that feed 
on different food and that will allow or assist kind Mother 
Nature "to repair her waste places." An illustration may 
help you to remember this fact. An element called nitro- 
gen is one of the commonest plant foods. Nitrogen may 
almost be called plant bread. The wheat crop uses up 
a good deal of nitrogen. Suppose a field were planted 
in wheat year after year. Most of the available nitrogen 
would be taken out of the soil after a while, and a new 
wheat crop, if planted on the field, would not get enough 
of its proper food to yield a paying harvest. This same 
land, however, that could not grow wheat could produce 
other crops that do not require so much nitrogen. For 
example, it could grow cowpeas. Cowpeas, aided by their 
root tubercles, are able to gather a great part of the 
nitrogen needed for their growth from the air. Thus a 
good crop of peas can be obtained even if there is little 
available nitrogen in the soil. On the other hand, wheat 
and corn and cotton cannot utilize the free nitrogen of 
the air, and they suffer if there is an insufficient quantity 
present in the soil. Hence the necessity of growing 
legumes to supply the deficiency. 



38 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Let us now see how easily plant food may be economized 
by the rotation of crops. 

If you sow wheat in the autumn, it is ready to be harvested 
in June or July, the very months for planting cowpeas. Plow 
or disk the wheat stubble, and sow the same field to cowpeas. 




Fig. 26. Cowpeas and Corn — August 
From photograph loaned by Director B. W. Kilgore 



If the wheat crop has exhausted the greater part of the 
nitrogen of the soil, it makes no difference ; for the cow- 
pea will get its nitrogen from the air, and not only provide 
for its own growth, but, in the queer nodules of its roots, 
will leave quantities of nitrogen for the crops coming after 
it in the rotation. 



THE SOIL AND THE PLANT 39 

If corn be planted, there should be a rotation in just the 
same way. The corn plant, a summer grower, of course 
uses a certain portion of the plant food stored in the soil. 
In order that it may feed on what the corn did not use, 
the crop following corn should be one that requires a some- 
what different food. Moreover, it should be one that fits in 




Fig. 27. CowpEAs and Corn — October 
From photograph loaned by Director B. W. Kilgore 

well with corn so as to make a winter crop. We find just 
such a plant in clover or wheat. Like the cowpea, all the 
different varieties of clover have on their roots tubercles 
that add the important element, nitrogen, to the soil. 

From these facts is it not safe to conclude that if you 
wish to improve your land quickly and keep it always 
fruitful you must practice crop rotation ? 



40 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



An Illustration of Crop Rotation 

Here are two systems of crop rotation as practiced at one 
or more agricultural experiment stations. Each furnishes 
an ideal plan for keeping up land : 



First Year 


Second Year 


Third Year 


Summer 


Winter 


Summer 


Winter 


Summer 


Winter 


Corn 


Crimson 
clover 


Cotton 


Wheat 


Cowpeas 


Rye for 
pasture 



Summer 


Winter 


Summer 


Winter 


Summer 


Winter 


Com 


Wheat 


Clover 
and grass 


Clover 
and grass 


Grass 


Grass for 

pasture or 

meadow 



In these rotations the cowpeas and clovers are nitrogen 
crops. They not only furnish hay but they enrich the soil. 
The wheat, corn, and cotton are money crops, but in addi- 
tion they are cultivated crops ; hence they improve the 
physical condition of the soil and give opportunity to kill 
weeds. The grasses and clovers are of course used for 
pasturage and hay. This is only a suggested rotation. 
Work out a rotation that suits your home need. 

EXERCISE 

Let the pupils each present a system of rotation that includes the crops 
raised at home. The system presented should as nearly as possible meet 
the following requirements : 

1. Legumes for gathering nitrogen. 

2. Money crops for cash income. 

3. Cultivated crops for tillage and weed destruction. 

4. Food crops for feeding live stock. 



CHAPTER III 

THE PLANT 

SECTION XII — HOW A PLANT FEEDS FROM 
THE AIR 

If you partly burn a match, you will see that it becomes 
black. This black substance is called carbon. Examine a 
fresh stick of charcoal and estimate how much of a plant 
is carbon. You see in the charcoal every fiber that you 
saw in the wood itself. This means that every part of 
the plant contains carbon. How important, then, is this 
substance to the plant ! 

You will be surprised to know that all of the carbon in 
plants comes from the air. All the carbon that a plant gets 
is taken in by the leaves of the plant. Not a particle is 
taken by the roots. 

A large tree, weighing perhaps ir,ooo pounds, requires 
in its growth carbon from 16,000,000 cubic yards of air. 

Perhaps, after these statements, you may think there is 
danger that the carbon of the air may sometime become 
exhausted. The air of the whole world contains about 
1,760,000,000,000 pounds of carbon. Moreover, this is 
continually being added to by our fires and by the breath 
of animals. When wood or coal is used for fuel, the 
carbon of the burning substance is returned to the air in 
the form of gas. Some large factories burn great quan- 
tities of coal, and thus turn much carbon back to the air. 

41 



42 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

A single factory in Germany is estimated to give back to 
the air daily about 5,280,000 pounds of carbon. You see 
that the air is thus being replenished to make up for the 
carbon taken by the growing plants. 

The carbon of the air can be used by none but green 
plants, and by them only in the sunlight. We may com- 
pare the green coloring matter of the leaf to a machine, 
and the sunlight to the power, or energy, which keeps the 
machine in motion. By means, then, of sunlight and the 
green coloring matter of the leaves, the plant secures carbon. 
The carbon passes into the plant and is there made into two 
foods very necessary to the plant, namely, starch and sugar. 

Sometimes the plant uses the starch and sugar immedi- 
ately. At other times it stores both away, as in the Irish 
and the sweet potato, beets, cabbage, peas, and beans. 
These plants are used as food by man because they contain 
so much nourishment, that is, starch and sugar that was 
stored away by the plant for its own future use. 

EXERCISE 

Examine some charcoal. Can you see the rings of growth? 
Slightly char paper, cloth, meat, sugar, starch, etc. What does the 
turning black prove? What per cent of these substances do you 
think is pure carbon? 

SECTION XIII — THE SAP CURRENT 

The root hairs take nourishment from the soil. The 
leaves manufacture starch and sugar. These manufactured 
foods must be carried to all parts of the plant. There are 
two currents to carry them. One passes from the roots 



THE PLANT 



43 



through the young wood to the leaves, and one, a down- 
ward current, passes through the bark, carrying needed food 
to the roots (see Fig. 28). 

If you should injure the roots, the 
water supply to the leaves would be 
cut off and the leaves immediately 
wither. On the other hand, if you 
remove the bark, that is, girdle the 
tree, you in no way interfere with 
the water supply and the leaves do 
not wither. Girdling does, however, 
interfere with the downward food 
current through the bark. 

If the tree be girdled, the roots 
sooner or later suffer from lack of 
food supply from 
the leaves. 
Owing to this 
food stoppage, 
the roots will 
cease to grow, 
and will soon be 
unable to take in 
sufficient water, and then the leaves will 
begin to droop. This, however, may not 
happen until several months after the pj^, ^ 
girdling. Sometimes a partly girdled 
branch grows much in thickness just 
above the girdle, as in Fig. 29. This 
extra growth seems to be due to a stoppage of the rich 
supply of food which was on its way to the roots through 




Fig. 28. Movement of 
THE Sap Current 




A Thicken- 
ing ABOVE THE WiRE 

that caused the 
Girdling 



44 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



the bark. It could go no farther, and was therefore used 
by the tree to make at this point an unnatural growth. 

It is, then, the general law of sap movement that the 
upward current from the roots passes through the woody 
portion of the trunk, and that the current bearing the food 
made by the leaves passes downward through the bark. 

EXERCISE 

Let the teacher see that these and all other experiments are performed 
by the pupils. Do not allow them to guess, but make them see. 

Girdle valueless trees or saplings of several kinds, cutting the 
bark away in a complete circle around the tree. Do not cut into the 
wood. How long before the tree shows signs of injury? Girdle 
a single small limb on a tree. What happens ? Explain. 



stiff.— ^ 



SECTION XIV — THE FLOWER AND THE SEED 

Some people think that the flowers by the wayside are 
for the purpose of beautifying the world and increasing 
man's enjoyment. Do you think this is 
true .'' Undoubtedly the flower is beau- 
tiful, and to be beautiful is one of the 
uses of many flowers ; but that is not 
the chief use of a flower. 

You know that when peach or apple 
blossoms are nipped by the spring frost 
the fruit crop is in danger. The fruit of 
the plant bears the seed, and the flower 
produces the fruit. That is its chief duty. 
Do you know any plant that produces 
seed without flowers ? Some one answers, " The corn, the 
elm, and maple all produce seed, but have no flower." No, 




Fig. 30. Parts of 
THE Pistil 



THE PLANT 



45 



that is not correct. If you look closely you will find in the 
spring very small flowers on the elm and on the maple, while 
the ear and the tassel are really the blossoms of the com 




Stamen 



Petal 



Pistil Pistil 



Stamen 




Fig. 31. A Buttercup 



plant. Although they may sometimes seem very curious 
flowers, yet every plant that produces seed has flowers. 

Let us see what a flower really is. Take, for example, a 
buttercup, cotton, tobacco, 



or plum blossom (see Figs. 
31 and 32). You will find 
on the outside a row of 
green leaves inclosing the 
flower when it is still a 
bud. These leaves are the 
sepals. Next on the inside 
is a row of colored leaves, 
or petals. Arranged inside 
of the petals are some 



Stigma 



Anther 
. -Stamen 

Stamen 

-Pistil 

Petal 




Ovary 



Fig. 32. A Plum Blossom 



threadlike parts, each with a knob on the end. These are the 
stamens. Examine one stamen closely (Fig. 33). On the 
knob at its tip you should find, if the flower is fully open, 



46 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 




B 

Stamens 

a, anther ; _/", filament. 



some fine grains, or powder. In the lily, this powder is so 
abundant that in smelling the flower you often brush a 
quantity of it off on your nose. This 
substance is called pollen, and the knob 
on the end of the stamen in which the 
pollen is borne is the anther. 

The pollen is of very great importance 
to the flower. Without it there could 
be no seeds. The stamens as pollen 
bearers, then, are very important. But 
there is another part to each flower that 
is of equal value. This part you will 
find in the center of the flower, inside 
the circle of stamens. It is called the 
pistil (¥\g. 32). The swollen tip of the 
pistil is the stigma. The swollen base of the pistil forms 
the ovary. If you care- 
fully cut open this ovary, 
you will find in it very 
small immature seeds. 

Some plants bear all 
these parts in the same 
flower ; that is, each blos- 
som has stamens, pistil, 
petals, and sepals. The 
pear and tomato blossoms 
represent such flowers. 
Other plants bear their 
stamens and pistils in 
separate blossoms. Stamens and pistils may even occur 
in separate plants, and some blossoms have no sepals or 



-St 




Fig. 34. Tomato Blossom 



THE PLANT 



47 




petals at all. Look at the corn plant. Here the tassel is 
a cluster of many flowers, each of which bears only stamens. 
The ear is likewise a cluster of many flowers, each of which 
bears only a pistil. The dust that you see falling from the 
tassel is the pollen, and the long silky threads of the ear 
are the stigmas. 

Now no plant can bear seeds unless the pollen of the 
stamen fall upon the stigma. Corn cannot therefore make 
seed unless the dust of the tassel fall upon the silk. 
Did you ever 
notice how 
poorly the cob 
is filled on a 
single corn 
stalk standing 
alone in the 
field .'' Do you 

see why } It is because that, when a plant stands 
alone, the wind blows the pollen away from the 
tassel, and little or none is received on the stigmas below. 

In the corn plant the stamens and pistils are separate ; 
that is, they do not occur on the same flower although 
they are upon the same plant. This is also true of the 
squash (see Fig. 35). In many plants, however, as the 
hemp, hop, sassafras, willow, and others, the staminate parts 
are on one plant and the pistillate parts are on another. 
This is also true in several other cultivated plants. For 
example, in some strawberries the stamens are absent or 
useless ; that is, they bear no good pollen. In such cases 
the grower must see to it that near by are strawberry plants 
that bear stamens in order that these plants which do not 



Fig. 35. Squash Blossoms 




48 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

bear pollen may become pollinated, that is may have pollen 
carried to them. After the stigma has been supplied with 
pollen, a single pollen grain sends a threadlike sprout down 
through the stigma into the ovary. This process if success- 
fully completed is called fertilisation. 

EXERCISE 

Examine several flowers and identify the parts named in the last 
chapter. Try in proper season to find the pollen in the maple, willow, 
alder, and pine, wheat, cotton, and morning-glory. 

How fast does the ovary of the apple blossom enlarge ? Measure 
one and watch it closely from day to day. Can you find any plants 
that have their stamens and ovaries on separate individuals? 

SECTION XV — POLLINATION 

Nature uses several interesting ways to secure pollen 
transportation. In the corn, willow, and pine, the pollen is 
picked up by the wind and carried away. Much of it is lost, 
but some reaches the stigmas or receptive parts of other corn, 
willow, or pine flowers. This is a very wasteful method, 
and all plants using it must provide much pollen. 

Many plants employ a much better method. They have 
learned how to make insects bear their pollen. In plants of 
this type, the parts of the blossom are so shaped and so 
placed as to deposit pollen from the stamen on the insect 
and to receive pollen from the insect upon the stigmas. 

When you see the clumsy bumblebee clambering over 
and pushing his way into a clover blossom, you may be 
sure that he is getting well dusted with pollen and that 
the next blossom he visits will secure a full share on its 
stigma. 



THE PLANT 



49 



When flowers fit themselves to insect pollination, they 
can no longer use the wind, and are helpless if insects do 
not visit them. They therefore cunningly resort to two 
chief means to make sure of the visits of insects. First, 
they provide a sweet nectar as a repast for the insect 
visitor. The nectar is a sugary solution found in the bot- 
tom of the flower and is used by the visitor as food or to 







Fig. 2,6. Bees carrying Pollen 



make honey. Second, flowers advertise to let the insect 
world know that they have something for it. The adver- 
tising is done by means either of showy colors or of fra- 
grant perfume. Insects have wonderful powers of smell. 
You may hereafter know that showy or fragrant flowers 
are advertising the presence either of nectar or pollen (to 
make beebread) and that they are also dependent upon 
insects for pollination. 



50 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

A season of heavy, cold rains during blossoming time 
may often injure the fruit crop by preventing timely visits 
from insects. You now also understand why plants often 
refuse to produce seeds indoors. They cannot, since they 
are shut in, receive proper insect visits. Plants such as 
tomatoes or other garden fruits dependent upon insect 
pollination must, if raised in the greenhouse, be pollinated 
by hand. 

EXERCISE 

Exclude insect visitors from some flower or flower cluster, e.g. 
clover, by covering with a paper bag, and see if they can produce seeds 
that are capable of growing. Compare, as to number and vitality, the 
seeds of such a flower with those of an uncovered flower. Observe 
insects closely. Do you ever find pollen on them .-' What kinds of 
insects visit the clover? the cowpea? the sourwood? the flax.? Is 
wheat pollinated by insects or by wind or by some other means ? 
Do bees fly in rainy weather ? How will a long rainy season at 
blossoming time affect the apple crop ? Why ? Should bees be kept 
in an orchard "? Why .'' 



SECTION XVI — CROSSES, HYBRIDS, AND CROSS 
POLLINATION 

In our study of flowers and their pollination we have seen 
that the seed is usually the descendant of two parents or at 
least of two organs : one the ovary, producing the seed, the 
other the pollen, which is necessary to fertilize the ovary. 

It happens that sometimes the pollen of one blossom 
fertilizes the ovary of its own flower, but more often the 
pollen from one plant fertilizes the ovary of another plant. 
This latter method is called cross pollinatiott. As a rule, 
cross pollination produces a stronger seed, that is, a seed 



THE PLANT 



51 



that will produce a better plant. Cross pollination by 
hand is often used by plant breeders when, for purposes 
of seed selection, a specially strong plant is desired. The 
steps in hand pollination are as follows: (i) remove the 
anthers before they open to prevent them from 
pollinating the stigma (the 
steps in this process are illus- 
trated in Figs, 37, 38, and 
39) ; (2) cover the flower 
thus treated with a paper bag 
to prevent access of stray 
pollen (see Fig, 40) ; (3) 
when the ovary is sufficiently 
developed, carry pollen to 
the stigma by hand from the 
anthers of another plant 
which you have selected to 
furnish it, and rebag to pre- 
vent access of any stray pol- 
len which might accidentally 
get in; (4) collect seed when 
mature and label properly. 

Hand pollination has this 
advantage, — you know both 
parents of your seed. If 
pollination occur naturally, you know the maternal but have 
no means of judging the paternal parent. You can readily 
see, therefore, how hand pollination enables you to secure 
seed derived from two well-behaved parents. 

Sometimes we can breed one kind of plant upon another. 
The result of such cross breeding is known as a hybrid. In 




Fig. 37 

The bud on right at top is in proper con- 
dition for removal of anthers ; the 
anthers have been removed from the 
buds below 



52 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



the animal kingdom we have in the mule a common example 

of this cross breeding. Plant hybrids were formerly called 

mules also, but this suggestive term is now about out of use. 

It is only when plants of two distinct kinds are crossed 




Fig. 38. Orange Blossom prepared for crossing 
First, bud ; second, anthers unremoved ; third, anthers removed 

that the result is called a hybrid ; for example, a blackjack 
oak on a white oak, an apple on a pear. If the parent 
plants are more closely related, as, for example, an apple of 




Fig. 39. Tomato Blossom ready to cross 
First, bud ; second, anthers unremoved ; third, anthers removed 

one kind with another variety of apple, the result is known 
simply as a cross. 

Hybrids and crosses are valuable in that they usually 
differ from both parents yet combine some of the qualities 



THE PLANT 



53 



of each, emphasizing some, omitting others. They thus 
often produce an interesting new kind of plant. Some- 
times we are able by hybridization to combine in one plant 
the good qualities of two other plants, and thus make a great 
advance in agriculture. The new forms brought about by 
hybridization may be fixed or made permanent by such 




Fig. 40 

First, blossom bagged to prevent access of stray pollen ; second, fruit 
for protection 



selection as is mentioned in Section XVIII. Hybridization 
is of great aid in originating new plants. 

It often happens that a plant will be more fruitful when 
pollinated by one variety than by some other variety. 
This is well illustrated in the accompanying figure (Fig. 41). 
A fruit grower or farmer should know much about these 
subjects before selecting varieties for his orchard, vine- 
yard, etc. 



54 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

EXERCISE 

Consult Bulletin 29, Vegetable Physiology and Pathology, Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. 

Read Bailey's " Plant Breeding," and then attempt to cross some 
plants. You must remember that many crosses must be attempted 
in order to gain success with even a few. 



SECTION XVII — PLANT PROPAGATION BY BUDS 

It is the business of the farmer to propagate plants. 
This he does in one of two ways : by buds, that is by 
small pieces cut from parent plants, or by seeds. The 
chief aim in both methods should be to secure in the 
most convenient manner the best paying plants. 

Many plants are most easily and quickly propagated by 
buds, as for example the grape, red raspberry, fig, and 
many others that we cultivate for the flower only, such as 
the carnation, geranium, rose, and begonia. 

In growing plants from cuttings, a piece is taken from 
the kind of plant that one wishes to grow. The greatest 
care must be exercised in order to get a healthy cutting. 
If we take a cutting from a poor plant, what can we expect 
but to grow a poor plant like the one from which our 
cutting was taken .-• On the other hand, if a fine, strong, 
vigorous, fruitful plant be selected, we shall expect to 
produce just such a fine, strong, fruitful plant. 

We expect the cutting to make just exactly the same 
variety of plant as the parent stock. We must therefore 
decide upon the variety of berry, grape, fig, carnation, or 
rose that we wish to propagate, and then look for the 
strongest and most promising plants of this variety at our 




Fig. 41 

Brighton pollinated by (i) Salem, (2) Creveling, (3) Lindley, (4) Brighton, 

(5) Self-poUinated, (6) Nectar, (7) Jefferson, (8) Niagara 

55 



56 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



disposal. The utmost care will not produce a fine plant if 
we start from poor stock. 

What qualities are most desirable in a plant from which 
cuttings are to be taken .-' First, it should be productive, 
hardy, and fit for your climate and your needs ; second, it 
should be healthy. Do not take cuttings from a diseased 




Fig. 42. Geranium Cutting 
Showing depth to which cutting should be planted 

plant, since the cutting may carry the disease, as it often 
does in the case of the chrysanthemum and carnation. 

Cuttings may be taken from various parts of the plant, 
sometimes even from parts of the leaf, as in the begonia 
(Fig. 46). More often, however, they are drawn from parts 
of the stem (Figs. 43, 44, 45). As to the age of the twig 
from which the cutting is to be taken, Professor Bailey 



THE PLANT 



57 



iHJIim/Hllll/h 




says : " For most plants the proper age or maturity of 
wood for the making of cuttings may be determined by 
giving the twig a quick bend ; if it 
snaps and hangs by the bark, it is 
in proper condition. If it bends 
without breaking, it is too young 
and soft or too old. If it splinters, 
it is too old and woody." Some 
plants, as the geranium, succeed 
better if the cuttings from which 
they are grown are taken from soft, 
young parts of the plant ; others, 
Grape Cutting for example, the grape or rose, do 
Showing depth to which cutting better whcn the cutting is made 

should be planted . , 

from more mature wood. 

Cuttings may vary in size, 
and may include one or more 
buds. After a hardy, vigorous 
cutting is made, insert it about 
one half or one third of its 
length in soil. A soil free from 
organic matter is much the best, 
since in such soil cuttings are 
much less liable to disease. A 
fine, clean sand is commonly 
used by professional gardeners. 
When cuttings have rooted 
well, — this may require a i^- 44- 
month or more, — they may be transplanted to larger pots. 

Sometimes, instead of cutting off a piece and rooting 
that, portions of branches are made to root before they 




■y///Mwm/v'- 



Carnation Cutting 



58 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



are separated from the parent plant. This method is often 
followed and is known as layering. It is a simple process. 
Just bend the tip of a bough down and bury it in the earth 
(see Fig. 47). The black raspberry forms layers naturally, 
but man often aids it by burying the overhanging tips in 
the earth, so that more tips may readily take root. The 
strawberry develops runners that root themselves in a 

very similar fashion. 

Grafts and buds are really 
/[ "~y\ cuttings which, instead 
of being buried in sand 
to produce 
roots of their 
o w n, a r e 
placed upon 
the roots of other plants. 
Grafting and budding are practiced 
when these methods are more convenient than 
cutting or when the gardener thinks there is 
danger of failure to get plants to take root 
as cuttings. Neither grafting nor budding is, however, 
necessary for the raspberry or the grape, for these propagate 
most readily from cuttings. 

It is often the case that a budded or grafted plant is 
more fruitful than a plant upon its own roots. In cases 
of this kind, of course, grafts or buds are used. 

The white, or Irish, potato is usually propagated from 
pieces of the potato itself. Each piece used for planting 
bears one eye or more. The potato itself is really an 
underground stem and the eyes are buds. This method of 
propagation is therefore really a peculiar kind of cutting. 




Fig. 45. Rose 

CUTl'ING 



THE PLANT 



59 



Since the eye is a bud and our potato plant for next 
year is to develop from this bud, it is of much importance, 
as we have seen, to know exactly what kind of plant our 
potato comes from. If our potato is taken from a small 
plant that had but a few poor potatoes in the hill, we may 
expect the bud to produce a similar plant next year and 
a correspondingly poor crop. We must see to it, then, 
that our seed potatoes come from vines that were good 
producers, because new 
potato plants are like 
the plants from which 
they were grown. Of 
course we cannot tell 
when our potatoes are 
in the bin from what 
kind of plants they came. 
We must therefore select 
our seed potatoes in the 
field. Seed potatoes 
should always be 
selected from those hills 
that produce most 
bountifully. Be assured that the increased yield will richly 
repay this care. It matters not so much whether the seed 
potato be large or small ; it must, however, come from a 
hill bearing a large yield of fine potatoes. 

Sweet potato plants are produced from shoots, or grow- 
ing buds, taken from the potato itself, so that in their 
case too the piece that we use in propagating is a part 
of the original plant, and will therefore be like it under 
similar conditions. Just as with the Irish potato, it is 




Fig. 46. Begonia Leaf Cutting 



6o 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



important to know how good a yielder you are planting. 
You should watch during harvest and select for propagation 
for the next year only such plants as yield best. 

We should exercise fully as much care in selecting 
proper individuals from which to make a cutting or a layer 
as we do in selecting a proper individual of live stock to 
breed from. Just as we select the finest Jersey in the herd 
for breeding purposes, so we should choose first the variety 
of plant we desire, and then the finest individual plant of 

that variety. 

If the variety of the potato 
that we desire to raise be 
Early Rose, it is not enough 
to select a7iy Early Rose 
plants, but the very best 
Early Rose plants to furnish 
our seed. 

It is not enough to select 

Fig. 47. Layering , r ■ ,. r 

^' large, fine potatoes for cut- 

tings. A large potato may not produce a bountifully yielding 
plant. It will produce a plant like tJie one tJiat produced it. 
It may be that this one large potato was the only one pro- 
duced by the original plant. If so, the plant that grows from 
it will tend to be similarly unproductive. Thus you see the 
importance of selecting in the field a plant that has exactly 
the qualities desired in the neiv plant. 

One of the main reasons why gardeners raise plants 
from buds instead of from seeds is that the seed of many 
plants will not produce plants like the parent. This failure 
"to come true," as it is called, is sometimes of value, for it 
occasionally leads to improvement. For example, suppose 




THE PLANT 



6i 



that a thousand apple or other fruit or flower seeds from 
plants usually propagated by cuttings be planted; it may 
be that one out of a thousand or a million will be a very 
valuable plant. If a valuable plant be so produced, it should 
be most carefully guarded, multiplied by cuttings or grafts, 
and introduced far and wide. It is in this way that new 
varieties of fruits and flowers are produced. 

Sometimes, too, a single bud on a tree ^ 

will differ from other buds and will 
produce a branch different from other 
branches. This is known as bud varia- 
tioji. When there is thus developed a 
branch which happens to be of superior 
kind, it should be propagated by cuttings 
just as you would propagate it if it had 
originated from a seed. 

Mr. Gideon of Minnesota planted many 

apple seeds, and from them all raised one 

tree that was very fruitful, finely flavored, 

and able to withstand the cold Minnesota 

winter. This tree he multiplied by grafts ^^^- 4^- Currant 

Cutting 
and named the Wealthy apple. It is said 

that in giving this one apple to the world he benefited the 

world to the value of more than one million dollars. You 

must not let any valuable bud or seed variant be lost. 



Plants to be propagated from Buds 

The following list gives the names and methods by which 
our common garden fruits and flowers are propagated : 
. Figs: use cuttings 8 to lo inches long or layer. 
Grapes: use long cuttings, layer, or graft upon old vines. 



62 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Apples: graft upon seedlings, usually crab seedlings one 
year old. 

Pears : bud upon pear seedlings. 

Cherries: bud upon cherry stock. 

Plums: bud upon peach stock. 

Peaches: bud upon peach or plum seedlings. 

Quinces: use cuttings or layering. 

Blackberries : layer; remove old stem after fruiting. 

Raspberries : layer; remove old stem. 

Red raspberries: propagate by root cuttings. 

Strawberries : propagate by runners. 

Qirrants and gooseberries : use long cuttings (these plants 
grow well only in cool climates. If attempted in warm 
climates, set in cold exposure). 

Carnations, geraniums, roses, begonias, etc. : propagate by 
cuttings rooted in sand and then transplanted to small 
pots. 

EXERCISE 

Propagate fruits (grape, fig, strawberry) of various kinds ; also 
ornamental plants. How long does it take tliem to root.'' Geraniums 
rooted in the spring will bloom in the fall. Do you know any one 
who selects " seed " potatoes properly ? Try a careful selection of 
seed at next harvest time. 



SECTION XVIII— PLANT SEEDING 

In propagating by seed, as in reproducing by buds, we 
select a portion of the parent plant — for a seed is surely 
a part of the parent plant — and place it in the ground. 
There is, however, one great difference between a seed 
and a bud. The bud is really a piece of the parent plant, 



THE PLANT 6$ 

but a piece of one plant only; while a seed comes from 
the parts of two plants. 

You will understand this fully if you read carefully 
Sects. XIV, XV, and XVI. Since the seed is made of 
two plants, the plant that springs from a seed is much 
more likely to differ from its mother plant, that is, from 
the plant that produces the seed, than is a plant produced 
merely by buds. In some cases plants "come true to 
seed " very accurately. In others they vary greatly. For 
example, when we plant the seed of wheat, turnips, rye, 
onions, tomatoes, tobacco, or cotton, we get plants that are 
in most respects like the parent plant. On the other 
hand, the seed of a Crawford peach, or a Baldwin apple, 
or a Bartlett pear will not produce plants like its parent, 
but will rather resemble its wild ancestors of years ago. 
These seedlings, thus taking after their ancestors, are 
always far inferior to our present cultivated forms. In 
such cases seeding is not practicable, and we must resort 
to bud propagation of one sort or another. 

While, in a few plants like those just mentioned, the seed 
does not " come true," most plants, as for example cotton, 
tobacco, and others, do "come true." When we plant 
King cotton, we may expect to raise King cotton. There 
will, however, be some or even considerable variation in 
the field, as every one knows. Some plants even in exactly 
the same soil will be better than the average, and some will 
be poorer. Now we see this variation in the plants of our 
field, and we believe that the plant will be in the main like 
its parent. What should we learn from this.? Surely that 
if we wish to produce sturdy, healthy, productive plants we 
must go into our field and pick out just such plants to 




Figs. 49 and 50. Chrysanthemum and Asparagus 
64 



THE PLANT 



65 



secure seed from as we wish to produce another year. If we 
wait until the seed is separated from the plant that produced 
it before we select our cotton seed, we shall be planting seed 
from poor as well as good plants, and must be content with a 
crop of just such stock as we have planted. By selecting 
seed from the most productive plants in the field, and by 
repeating the selection each year, you can continually improve 
the breed of the plant you are raising. In applying this to 
cotton you may follow the plan suggested for wheat below. 




Fig. 51. Two Varieties of Flax from One Parent Stock 
After original in " Year Book," United States Department of Agriculture 



The difference that you see between the wild and cul- 
tivated chrysanthemums and the samples of asparagus 
shown in Figs. 49 and 50 was brought about by just such 
continuous seed selection. 

By the careful selection of seed from the longest flax 
plants, the increase in length shown in the accompanying 
figure was attained. The selection of seed from those plants 
bearing the most seed, but regardless of the height of the 
plant, has produced flax like that to the right in the illus- 
tration. These two kinds of flax are from the same parent 



66 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Stock, but slight differences have been emphasized by con- 
tinued seed selection, until we now have really two varieties 
of flax, one a heavy seed bearer, the other producing a 
long fiber. 

You can in a similar way improve your cotton or any 
other seed crop. Sugar beets have been made by seed 
selection to produce about double the percentage of sugar 
that they did a few years ago. It costs too much and is 
too laborious to prepare and to till land to allow it to be 
planted with poor seed. The following are the qualities 
of the parent plant that ought to be sought for in trying 
by seed selection to improve the yield of the cotton stalk: 
first, seed should be chosen only from plants that bear 
many well-filled bolls of long staple cotton; second, seed 
should be taken from no plant that does not by its healthy 
condition show hardihood in resisting disease and drought. 

The plan of choosing seeds from selected plants may 
be applied to wheat; but it would be too time-consuming 
to select enough single wheat plants to furnish all of the 
seed wheat for next year. In this case adopt the following 
plan. In Fig. 52, let A represent the total size of your 
wheat field, and let B represent a plat large enough to fur- 
nish seed for the whole field. At harvest time go into 
section A and select the best plants you can find. Pick 
the heads of these and thresh them by hand. The seed 
so obtained must be carefully saved for your next sowing. 

In the fall sow these selected seeds in area B. This area 
should produce the best wheat. At the next harvest cull 
not from the whole field but from the finest plants of 
plat B, and again save these as seed for plat B. Use the 
unculled seed from plat B to sow your crop. By following 



THE PLANT 



^7 



this plan continuously you will have every year seed from 
several generations of choice plants, and will each year 
improve your seed. 

It is of course advisable to move your seed plat i? every year 
or two. Select for the new plat land that has recently been 
planted in legumes. Always give this plat unwearying care. 

In this selection of plants from which to get seed, you 
must know what kind of plants are really the best seed plants. 




Fig. 5: 



First, j^?^ 7mist not regard single heads or grai?is, but must 
select seed froin the most perfect plant, looking at the plant 
as a whole and not at any single part of it. A first con- 
sideration is yield. Select the plants that yield best and 
are at the same time resistant to drouth, resistant to rust 
and to winter, early to ripen, plump of grain, and non- 
shattering. What a fine thing it would be to find even 
one plant free from rust in the midst of a rusted field ! 
It would mean a rust-resistant plant. Its offspring would 



68 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

probably be also rust resistant. If you should ever find 
such a plant, be sure to save its seed, and plant it in a plat 
by itself. The next year again save seed from those plants 
least rusted. Possibly you can develop a rust-proof race 
of wheat! Keep your eyes open. 

In England the average yield of wheat is thirty bushels 
an acre, in the United States less than fifteen bushels ! In 
some states the yield is even less than nine bushels an acre. 
Let us select our seed with care, as the English people do, 
and then we can increase our yield. By careful seed selec- 
tion a plant breeder in Minnesota increased the yield of 
his wheat by one fourth. Think of what it would mean 
if twenty-five per cent were added to the world's supply of 
wheat at comparatively no cost, that is, the mere cost of 
careful seed selection. This would mean an addition to the 
world's income of about $500,000,000 each year. The 
United States would get about one fifth of this profit. 

It often happens that a single plant in the crop of corn, 
cotton, or wheat will be far superior to all others in the 
field. Such a plant deserves special care. Do not use it 
merely as a seed plant, but carefully plant its seeds apart 
and tend carefully. The following season select the best 
of its offspring as favorites again. Repeat this selection 
and culture for several years until you fix the variety. 
This is the way new varieties are originated from plants 
propagated by seed. 

In 1862, Mr. Abraham Fultz of Pennsylvania, while pass- 
ing through a field of bearded wheat, found three heads of 
beardless, or bald, wheat. These he sowed by themselves 
that year, and, as they turned out specially productive, 
he continued to sow this new variety. Soon he had 



THE PLANT 69 

enough seed to distribute over the country. It became 
known as the Fultz wheat, and is to-day one of the best 
varieties in the United States and in a number of foreign 
countries. Think how many bushels of wheat have been 
added to the world's annual supply by a few moments of 
intelligent observation and action on the part of this one 
man ! He saw his opportunity and used it. How many 
similar opportunities do you think are lost .<* How much 
does your state or country lose thereby ,<* 

EXERCISE 

Select one hundred seeds from a good and one hundred from a 
poor plant of the same variety. Sow them in two plats far enough 
apart to avoid cross pollination, yet try to have soil conditions about 
the same. Give each the same care and compare the yield. Try 
this with corn, cotton, wheat. Select seeds from the best plant in 
your good plat and from the poorest in your poor plat and j-epeat 
the experiment. This will require but a few feet of ground, and the 
good plat will pay for itself in yield and the poor plat will more than 
pay in the lesson that it will teach you. 

Read page 68, Bulletin 24, of the Division of Vegetable Physi- 
ology and Pathology of the Department of Agriculture or the Year 
Book of the Department of Agriculture for 1896 (pages 489-498), 
which you can get by writing to the Department of Agriculture, 
Washington, D.C. Write to the Department of Agriculture for any 
bulletins that they can give you on plant breeding. 



SECTION XIX — SELECTING SEED CORN 

If a farmer would raise good crops, he must select good 
seed. Many of the farmer's disappointments in the quan- 
tity and quality of his crops, disappointments often attrib- 
uted to other causes, are the result of planting poor seed. 



70 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Seeds not fully ripened, if they grow at all, produce imper- 
fect plants. Good seeds, therefore, are the first things 
necessary for a good crop. The seed of only perfect 
plants should be saved. 

By judicious and persistent selection, made in the field 
before the crop is fully matured, corn can be improved to an 
almost unlimited extent in size and 
early maturity. Gather only ears 
from the most productive plants, and 
save only the largest and most perfect 
kernels. 

I am sure that you have seen the 
common American blackbirds that 
usually migrate and feed in such large 
numbers. They all look alike in every 
way. Now has it ever occurred to you 
to ask why all blackbirds are black? 
The blackbirds are black simply 
because their parents are black. 

Now in the same way that the young 
blackbirds resemble their parents, corn 

Fig. 53. The Kind of ^m resemble its parent stock. How 
Ear to select r 1 r j 

many ears or corn do you find on a 
stalk .■• One, two, sometimes three or four. You find two 
ears of corn on a stalk because it is the nature of that 
particular stalk to produce two ears. In the same way the 
nature of some stalks is to produce but one ear, while some- 
times it is the nature of others to produce three. 

This resemblance of offspring to parent is known to 
scientists as Jieredity, or as "like producing like." 

We can take advantage of this law in improving our 




THE PLANT 



n 



corn crop. One variety of corn may yield ten or even 
twenty bushels an acre more than another, when both are 
grown in the same field and have equal chances in every 
way. One variety has inherited from its parents the power 
to gather more plant food and moisture from the soil, grow 
larger, and produce more grain than the other. If we plant 
seed of the best corn, 
we use the full power of 
the soil and season, while 
with the poor seed we 
use only a part of this 
power. It costs just as 
much to plow the land, 
plant the corn, and cul- 
tivate it for the small 
crop as for the large one. 
Which crop will pay the 
better } 

First of all, we should 
be certain that the seed 
we plant is adapted to 
our soil and suited to our 
climate. 

A very large, coarse- 
stalked variety must have 
a deep, rich soil, plenty of moisture, and a long season in 
which to grow. Rich river or creek bottom land or the 
best black prairie land is needed for this kind of corn. 
We should go into the field before the corn is husked and 
select the best-formed ears from the best stalks (see Sup- 
plement, page 329). Or the seed ears may be selected as the 

t 




Fig. 54. Good Stalks to select 
Seed from 



72 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

corn is husked. A box can be attached to the back end of 
a wagon and Hned with gunny sack. This will make a con- 
venient place in which to put the best ears found while 
husking". Later the corn should be looked over again with 
care and the final selection made. Fasten the ears with 




Fic. 55. Imtkovkment of Corn hv Sklectidn 

Boone County white corn on left, and the type from which it was developed by 
selection on right. From original furnished by the United States Department 
of Agriculture 

binder twine, as suggested in the Supplement, Fig. 18. 
The ears should then be hung in a warm, dry place for the 
winter. The attic makes a good place, for we must not 
forget that even after the corn is ripe, very cold weather 
will injure it for seed if it is not perfectly dry. 



THE PLANT 



73 



SECTION XX — WEEDS 



Have you ever noticed that some weeds are killed by 
one particular method, while this same method may entirely 
fail with other kinds of weeds ? If we wish to free our 
fields of weeds with the greatest 
ease, we must know the nature 
of each kind of weed and then 
attack it in the way that we can 
most readily destroy it. 

The ordinary pigweed (Fig. 56) 
differs from many other weeds in 
that it lives for only one year. 
When winter comes, it must die. 
Each plant, however, bears a great 
number of seeds. If we can pre- 
vent the plant from making seed 
in its first year, there will not be 
many seeds to come up the next 
season. In fact, only those seeds 
that were too deeply buried in 
the soil to come up the previous 
spring will be left, and of these 
two-year-old seeds many will 
not germinate. During the 
next season some old seeds will produce 
the number will be very much diminished, 
exercised to prevent the pigweed from seeding again, 
and the same watchfulness be continued for a few 
seasons, the pigweed will be almost entirely driven from 
our fields. 




Fig. 56. Pigweed 

plants, but 
If care be 



74 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



A plant like the pigweed, which lives only one year, is 

called an annual, and is one of the easiest of weeds to 

destroy. Mustard, plantain, chess, dodder, cockle, crab 

grass, and Jimson weed are a few of our most disagree- 

^f^/^ ,^,v/i able annual weeds. 

4gW§m 



The very best time 
to kill any weed is 
when it is very small ; 
therefore the ground 
in early spring should 
be constantly stirred 
in order to kill the 
young weeds before 
they grow to be 
strong and hardy. 

The wild carrot 
differs from an 
annual, for it lives 
throughout one 
whole year without 
producing seeds. 
During its first year 
it accumulates a 
quantity of nourish- 




WiLD Carrot 



Fig. 57. 

ment in the root, then rests over winter, and in the fol- 
lowing summer it uses this nourishment rapidly in the 
production of flowers and seeds. Then the plant dies. 
Plants that live through two seasons in this way are 
called biennials. Weeds of this kind may be destroyed 
by cutting the roots below the leaves with a grubbing hoe 
or spud. A spud may be described as a chisel on a long 



THE PLANT 



75 



handle (see Fig. 58). If biennials are not cut low enough, 
they will branch out anew and make many seeds. The 
most common biennials are the 
thistle, moth mullein, wild car- 
rot, wild parsnip, and burdock. 




Fig. 58. A Spud 



Fig. 59. Hound's Tongue 



A third group of weeds consists of those that live for 
more than two years. These weeds are usually most diffi- 
cult to kill. They propagate by means of running root- 
stocks as well as by seeds. Plants that live more than 
two seasons are known as perennials and include, for exam- 
ple, many grasses, dock, Canada thistle, poison ivy, passion 
flower, horse nettle, etc. There are many methods of 



7^ 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



destroying perennial weeds. They may be dug entirely 
out and removed. Sometimes in small areas they may be 
killed by crude sulphuric acid or may be starved by cover- 
ing them with boards or a straw stack or in some other 
convenient way. A method that is very effective is to 
smother the weeds by a dense growth of some other plant, 
for example, cowpeas or buckwheat. Cowpeas are to be 

preferred, since they 



rf/m 




also enrich the soil by 
the nitrogen that the 
root tubercles gather. 
Weeds do injury in 
numerous ways: they 
shade the crop, steal 
its nourishment, and 
waste its moisture. 
Perhaps their only 
service is to make lazy 
people till their crops. 

EXERCISE 



You should learn to 
know by name the twenty 
worst weeds of your vicin- 
ity and to recognize their 
seeds. If there are any 

weeds you are not able to recognize, send a sample to your State 

Experiment Station. Make a collection, properly labeled, of weeds ' 

and weed seeds for your school. 

Procure from the Department of Agriculture Farmers' Bulletin 28 

on " Weeds and How to Kill Them." 



Fig. 60. Canada Thistle 



THE PLANT -j-j 

SECTION XXI — SEED PURITY AND VITALITY 

Seeds produce plants. The difference between a large 
and a small yield may depend upon the kind of plants we 
raise, and the kind of plant in turn is dependent upon the 
seeds that we sow. 

Two considerations are important in the selection of 
seeds, — namely, purity and vitality. Seeds should be 
pure ; that is, when sown they should produce no other 
plant than the one that we wish to raise. They should 
be able to grow. The ability of a seed to grow is termed 
its vitality. Good seed should be nearly or quite pure 
and should possess high vitality. The vitality of seeds is 
expressed in per cent ; for example, if 97 seeds out of 100 
germinate, or sprout, the vitality is said to be 97. The 
older the seed the less is its vitality, except in a few rare 
instances in which seeds cannot germinate under two or 
three years. 

Cucumber seeds may show 90 per cent vitality when 
they are one year old; 75 per cent when two years old, 
and 70 per cent when three years old, — the per cent of 
vitality diminishing with increase of years. The average 
length of life of seeds of cultivated plants is short : for 
example, the tomato lives four years ; corn, two years ; 
onion, two years ; radish, five years. The cucumber seed 
may retain life after ten years, though even with it, the 
older the seed the poorer. 

It is important when buying seeds of dealers to test these 
two properties of seeds, — purity and vitality. Unscrupu- 
lous dealers often sell old seeds, although they know that 
seeds decrease in value with age. Sometimes, however, to 



yS AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

cloak dishonesty they mix some new seeds with the old, 
or bleach old and yellow seeds in order to make them 
resemble fresh, new seed. 

It is important, therefore, that all seeds bought of dealers 
should be thoroughly examined and tested ; for if seeds do 
not grow, we not only pay for that which is useless, but we 
are also in great danger of producing so few plants in our 
field that we shall not get full use of the land, and may 
thus suffer a more serious loss than merely paying for a 
few dead seeds. 

To test the vitality of seeds, plant one hundred seeds 
in a pot of earth or in damp sand, or place between moist 
pieces of flannel, and take care to keep them moist and 
warm. Count those that germinate and thus determine 
the percentage of vitality. Germinating between flannel is 
much quicker than planting in earth. Care should be used 
to keep mice away from germinating seeds. (See Fig. 6i.) 




A B 

Fig. 6i. A Seed Germinator 
Consisting of two soup plates, some sand, and a piece of cloth 

Sometimes the appearance of a package will indicate 
whether the seed has been kept in stock a long time. 
It is, however, much more difficult to find out whether the 
seeds are pure. You can of course easily distinguish seeds 
that differ much from the seeds you wish to plant, but often 



THE PLANT 



79 



certain weed seeds are so nearly like certain crop seeds 
that the weed seeds are not easily recognized by the eye. 
Thus, for example, the dodder or "love vine," which so 
often ruins the clover 
crop, has seeds closely 
resembling clover 
seeds. The chess, or 
cheat, has seeds so 
nearly like oats that 

only a close observer 1 11 I 

can tell them apart. 
However, if you watch 
the seeds that you buy 
and study the appear- 
ance of crop seeds, 
you may become very 
expert in recognizing 
seeds that have no 
place in your planting. 

I know of one 
instance where a seed 
dealer intentionally 
allowed an impurity of 
30 per cent to remain in the crop seeds, and this impurity 
was mainly of weed seeds. There were 450,000 of one 
kind and 288,000 of another in each pound of seed. 
Think of planting weeds at that rate ! Sometimes three 
fourths of the seeds you buy are weed seeds. 

In purchasing seeds the only safe plan is to buy of 
dealers whose reputation can be relied upon. 



Fig. 62 

Tube I represents one pound of redtop grass as 
bought; Tube 2, amount of pure redtop grass 
seeds in Tube i ; Tube 3, amount of chaff and 
dirt in Tube i ; Tube 4, amount of weed seeds 
in Tube i ; Tube 5, amount of total waste in 
Tube I ; Tube 6, amount of pure germinable 
seed in Tube i 



8o AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



EXERCISE 

Examine seeds both for vitality and purity. Write for Farmers' 
Bulletins on bodi these subjects. What would be the loss to a 
farmer who planted a ten-acre clover field with seeds that were 
eighty per cent bad? Can you recognize the seeds of the principal 
cultivated plants? Germinate some beet seeds. What per cent 
comes up? Can you explain? Collect for your school as many 
kinds of wild and cultivated seeds as you can. 




Fig. 63. A Young Fruit Grower 
From Hodge's " Nature Study and Life," Ginn & Company 



81 



CHAPTER IV 
HOW TO RAISE A FRUIT TREE 

Let each pupil grow an apple tree this year and attempt 
to make it the best in his neighborhood. In your attempt 
suppose you try the following plan. In the fall take the 
seed of an apple — a crab is good — and keep it in a cool 
place during the winter. The simplest way to do this is 
to bury it in damp sand. In the spring plant it in a rich, 
loose soil. 

Great care must be taken of the young shoot as soon 
as it appears above the ground. You want to make it 
grow as tall and as straight as possible during this first 
year of its life ; hence you should give it rich soil and 
protect it from animals. Before the ground freezes in the 
fall take up your young tree with the soil that was around 
it and keep it all winter in a cool, damp place. 

Now it will not do when spring comes to set out your 
carefully tended tree, for an apple tree from seed will not 
be a tree like its parent, but will tend to resemble a more 
distant ancestor. The distant ancestor that the young 
apple tree is most likely to take after is the wild apple, 
which is small, sour, and otherwise far inferior to the 
fruit we wish to grow. It makes little difference, there- 
fore, what kind of apple seed we plant, since in any event 
we have no assurance that the tree grown from it will bear 
a fruit worth having unless we force it to do so. 

82 



HOW TO RAISE A FRUIT TREE 



83 



SECTION XXII — GRAFTING 



By a process known as grafting you can force your 
tree to produce whatever variety of apple you desire. Many 
people raise fruit trees directly from seed without graft- 
ing. They thus often produce really worthless trees. By 
grafting they would make sure not only of having good 
trees rather than poor ones but also of having the par- 
ticular kind of fruit that they 
wish; hence you must now graft 
your tree. 

First you must decide what 
variety of apple you want to grow 
on your tree. The Magnum 
Bonum is a great favorite as a 
fall apple. The Winesap is a 
good winter apple, while the Red 
Astrachan is a profitable early 
apple, especially in the lowland 
of the coast region. The North- 
ern Spy, yEsop, and Spitzenberg 
are also admirable species. Pos- 
sibly some other apple that you 
know may suit your taste and needs better. 

If you have decided to raise an -^sop or a Magnum 
Bonum or a Winesap, you must now cut a twig from the 
tree of your choice and graft it upon the little tree that 
you have raised. Choose a twig that is about the thick- 
ness of your young tree at the point where you wish to 
graft. Be careful to take your shoot from a vigorous, 
healthy part of the tree. 




Fig. 64. TaNGUE Grafting 



84 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



There are many ways in which you may join your chosen 

shoot or twig upon your young tree, but perhaps the best 
one for you to use is known as tongue 
grafting. This is illustrated in Fig. 64. 
The upper part, b, which is the shoot 
or twig that you cut from the tree, is 
known as the scion ; the lower part, a, 
which is your original tree, is called 
the stock. 

Cut your scion and stock as shown 
in Fig. 64. Join the cut end of the 
scion to the cut end of the stock. 
When you join them, notice that under 
the bark of each there is a thin layer 
of soft, juicy tissue. This is called the 
cambium. To make a 

a successful graft, 
the cambium in the 

scion must exactly join the cambium in 

the stock. Be careful, then, to see that 

cambium meets cambium. You now see 

why grafting can be more successfully 

done if you select a scion and stock of 

nearly the same size. 

After fitting the parts closely together, 

bind them with cotton yarn (see Fig. 65) 

that has been coated with grafting wax. 

This wax is made of equal parts of tal- 
low, beeswax, and linseed oil. Smear the wax thoroughly 

over the whole joint, and make sure that it is completely 

air tight. 



Fig. 65 
A Completed Graft 

Showing scion and stock 
from which it was made 




Fig. 66 

To make a root graft cut 
along the slanting line 



HOW TO RAISE A FRUIT TREE 



85 



The best time to make this graft is 
when scion and stock are dormant, that 
is, when not in leaf. During the winter, 
say in February, is the best time to 
graft your tree. Now set your grafted 
tree away again in damp sand until 
spring; then plant it in loose, rich soil. 
Since all parts growing above the graft 
will be of the same kind as the scion, 
while all branches below it will be like 
the stock, it is well to graft low on the 
stock, even upon the root itself. The 
slanting double line in Fig. 66 shows the 
proper place to cut off for such grafting. 

You may sometime, if you like, make 
the interesting and valuable experiment of grafting scions 
from various kinds of apple trees upon the branches of one 
stock. In this way you can secure a tree bearing a number 
of kinds of fruit. You may thus raise the Bonum, Red 
Astrachan, Winesap, and as many other varieties of apples 



Fig. 67 A Com- 
pleted Root Graft 





Fig. 68. Cleft Grafting 



86 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 





as you wish, upon one tree. For 
this experiment, however, you will 
find it better to resort to cleft graft- 
ing, which is illustrated in Fig. 68. 

Luther Burbank, the originator of 
the Burbank potato, in attempting 
to find a variety of apple suitable to 
the California climate, grafted more 
than five hundred kinds of apple 
scions on one tree, so that he might 
watch them side by side and deter- 
mine which kind was best suited to 
conditions in that state. 

SECTION XXIII — BUDDING 



Fig. 69. How to cut a 
Bud from a Scion 



If, instead of an apple tree, you 
were raising a plum or a peach, 
you would probably in the place of grafting use budding. 
Occasionally budding is also employed for apples, pears, 




Fig. 70. The Steps in Budding 



HOW TO RAISE A FRUIT TREE 



87 



cherries, oranges, and lemons. The process is as follows. 
A single bud is cut from the scion and is then inserted 
under the bark of a one-year-old peach 
seedling, so that the cambium of the bud 
and stock may grow together. 

Cut scions of the kind of fruit tree you 
desire from a one-year-old twig of the same 
variety. Wrap them in a clean, moist 
cloth until you are ready to use them. 
Just before using cut the bud from the 
scion, as shown in Fig. 69. This bud is 
now ready to be inserted on the north side 
of the stock, just two or three inches above 
the ground. The north side is selected to 
avoid the sun. Now, as shown at a in 
Fig. 70, make a cross and an up-and-down 
incision, or cut, on the 
stock ; pull the bark back carefully, as 
shown in B\ insert the bud C, as shown 
in Z>; then fold the bark back, and wrap 
with yarn or raffia, as shown in E. As 
soon as the bud and branches have united, 
remove the wrapping to prevent its cut- 
ting the bark, and cut the tree back very 
close to the bud, as in Fig. 71, so as to 
force nourishment into the inserted bud. 
Budding is done in the field without 
disturbing the tree as it stands in the Lines show where to 
ground. The best time to do this is *""* 

during the summer or fall months, when the bark is 
loose enough to allow the buds to be easily inserted. 



^. 



Fig. 71 

Sloping line shows 
where to cut tree 




88 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Trees may be budded or grafted upon one another only 
when they are nearly related. Thus the apple, crab apple, 
hawthorn, and quince are all related closely enough to graft 

or bud upon one another ; the 
pear grows upon some haw- 
thorns, but not well upon the 
apple; some chestnuts will 
unite with some kinds of oaks. 

SECTION XXIV — PLANTING 
AND PRUNING 



The apple tree that you 
grafted should be set out in 
the spring. Dig a hole three 
or four feet in diameter where 
you wish your tree to grow. 



Fig. 73 
Present shape comes from pruning 

Place the tree in the hole, using 
every care to preserve all the fine 
roots. Spread the roots out fully, 
water them, and pack fine, rich 
soil firmly about them. Place 
stakes about the young tree to 
protect it from injury. If the 
spot selected is in a windy loca- 
tion, incline your tree slightly toward the prevailing wind. 
You must prune your tree as it grows. The object of 





HOW TO RAISE A FRUIT TREE 



89 



pruning is to give the tree proper shape and to promote 
fruit bearing. If the bud at the end of the main shoot 
grow, you will have a tall, cone-shaped tree. If, however, 
the end of the young tree be cut or "headed back" to 
the lines in Fig. 72, the buds below this point will be 
forced to grow, and make a tree like that shown in Fig. 73. 
The proper height of heading for different fruits varies. 
For the apple tree a height of two or three feet is best. 




mT.'f 




Fig. 75 

Unthinned 



^^l^j^:;::' 



Fig. 76 
Properly thinned 



Cutting an end bud of a shoot or branch always sends 
the nourishment and growth into the side buds. Trim- 
ming or pinching off the side buds throws the growth into 
the end bud. You can therefore cause your tree to take 
almost any shape you desire. The difference between the 
trees shown in Figs. 73 and 74 is entirely the result of 
pruning. Fig. 74 illustrates in general a correctly shaped 
tree. It is evenly balanced, admits light freely, and yet has 
enough foliage to prevent sun scald. Figs. 75 and 'j6 show 
the effect of judiciously thinning the branches. 



90 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



The best time to prune is either in the winter or before 
the buds start in the spring. Winter pruning tends to 
favor wood production, while summer pruning lessens wood 
production and induces fruitage. 

Each particular kind of fruit 
requires special pruning; for 
example, the peach should be 
made to assume the shape 




•yjiiA'isu 



'•/>/,' vv 



Fig. 77. The Customary Way 

OF PRUNING A PeACH 



c.hA 

Fig. 78. Two Year 
Old Tree 
Cut off heel, A 



illustrated in Fig. yy. This is done by successive trim- 
mings, following the plan illustrated in Figs. 71, 78, 79. 
You will gain several advantages from these trimmings. 
First, nourishment will be forced into the peach bud that 
you set on your stock. This will secure a vigorous growth of 
the scion. A second trimming will take off the "heel,"^, 



HOW TO RAISE A FRUIT TREE 



91 



Fig. 79. Three 
Year Old Tree 

CUT BACK 



close to the tree, and thus prevent decay at this point. 

One year after budding you should reduce the tree to a 

"whip," as in Fig. 79, by trimming at the dotted line in 
Fig. 78. This establishes the "head" of 
your tree, which in the case of the peach 
should be very low, — that is, about sixteen 
inches from the ground, — in order that a 
low foliage may lessen the danger of sun 
scald to the main trunk. 

In pruning never leave a stump such 
as is shown in Fig. 78, //. Such a stump 
having no source of nourishment will be 
sure to heal very slowly with great danger 
of decay. If this heel is cleanly cut on the' 
line ch (Fig. 78), the wound will heal 

rapidly and with little danger of decay. 

Leaving such a stump 

endangers the soundness 

of the whole tree. Fig. 80 

shows the results of good 

and poor pruning on a large 

tree. When large limbs are 

removed, it is best to paint 

the cut surface to prevent 

the access of rot-causing 

fungi. 

Pruning that leaves large 

limbs branching, as in Fig. 

74, a, is not to be recom- 
mended, since the limbs when loaded with fruit or when 

beaten by heavy winds are liable to break. At the point 




Fig. 80 

Refuses to heal Heals promptly 



92 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

of breakage, decay is apt to set in. The entrance of decay- 
fungi through some such wound, or even through a very 
tiny crevice at such a crotch, is the beginning of the end 
of many a fruitful tree. 

Sometimes a tree will go too much to wood and too little 
to fruit. This often happens in rich soil, and may be reme- 
died by another kind of pruning known as root pruning. 
This consists in cutting off a few of the roots in order to 
limit the food supply of the plant. You should learn more 
about root pruning, however, before you attempt it. 

A recent writer asks and answers the following questions : 

" How is a peach tree made? In 1898 a pit or seed is saved. In 
the spring of 1899 it is planted. The young tree comes up quickly. 
In August, 1899, the little stock has one bud — of the desired variety 
— inserted near the ground. In the spring of 1900 the stock is sev- 
ered just above the bud, the bud throws out a shoot which grows 
to a height of four or six feet, and in the fall of 1900 the tree is 
sold. It is known as a year-old tree, but the root is two years old. 

" How is an apple tree made? The seed is saved in 1898, planted 
in 1899. The seedlings do not grow so rapidly as those of the peach. 
At the end of 1899 they are taken up and sorted, and in the spring 
of 1900 they are planted. In July or August, 1900, they are budded. 
In the spring of 1901 the stock is cut off above the bud, and the 
bud shoot grows three or four feet. In 1902 the shoot branches, or 
the top begins to form ; and in the fall of 1902 the tree may be sold 
as a two-year old, although most persons prefer to buy it in 1903 as a 
three-year old. In some parts of the country, particularly in the 
West, the httle seedling is grafted in the winter of 1899-1900, in a 
grafting room ; and the young grafts are set in the nursery row in the 
spring of 1900, to complete their growth." 



HOW TO RAISE A FRUIT TREE 



93 



EXERCISE 

Do you know any trees in your neighborhood that bear both 
wild and budded or grafted fruit ? What are the chief varieties of 
apples grown in your neighborhood? grapes? currants? plums? 
cherries? figs? What is a good apple tree worth? Is there any 
land near by that could support a tree that is not now doing so? 
Examine several orchards and see whether the trees have proper 
shape. Do you see any, evidence of poor pruning? Do you find 




Fig. 8i. Ready to bear 



any "heels"? Can you see any place where "heels" have resulted 
in rotten or hollow trees? How could you have prevented this? 
Has the removal of branches ever resulted in serious decay? How 
is this to be prevented? 

If your home is not now well stocked with all the principal kinds 
of fruit, do you not want to propagate and attend to some of each 
kind? You will be surprised to find how quickly they will bear and 
how soon you will be eating fruit from your own planting. I assure 
you that growing your own trees will make, you feel like a real 
proprietor. 



CHAPTER V 

THE DISEASES OF PLANTS 

SECTION XXV — THE CAUSE AND NATURE OF 
PLANT DISEASE 

Plants have diseases just as animals do; not the same 
diseases, to be sure, but just as serious for the plant. 
Some of them are so dangerous that they kill the plant ; 
others partly or wholly destroy its usefulness or its beauty. 
Some diseases are found oftenest on very young plants, 
others prey on the middle-aged tree, while still others 
attack merely the fruit. Whenever a farmer or fruit 
grower has disease among his plants, he of course loses 
much profit. 

You have all seen rotten fruit. This is diseased fruit. 
Fruit rot is a plant disease. Fruit rot costs farmers mil- 
lions of dollars annually. One fruit grower lost sixty car 
loads of peaches in one year through rot which could have 
been largely prevented if he had known how. 

Many of the yellowish or discolored spots on leaves are 
the result of disease, as is also the smut of wheat, corn, and 
oats, the blight of the pear, and the wilt of cotton. Many 
of these diseases are contagious, or, as we often hear said of 
measles, "catching." This is true, among others, of the 
apple and peach rot. A healthy apple can " catch " this 
disease from a sick apple. You often see evidence of 

94 



THE DISEASES OF PLANTS 



95 



this in the apple bin. So, too, many of the diseases found 
in the field or garden are contagious. 

Sometimes, when the skin of a rotten apple has been 
broken, you will find in the broken place a blue mold. It 
was the mold that caused the apple to decay. This mold 
is a living plant ; very small, to be sure, but nevertheless 
a plant. Let us learn a little about molds, in order that 
we may better understand 
our apple and potato rots as 
well as other plant diseases. 

If you cut a lemon and 
let it stand for a day or two, 
there will probably appear 
a blue mold 
like that you 
have seen on 
the surface of 
canned fruit. 
Bread also 
sometimes 
has this blue 
mold ; at other 
times it has a black mold, and again a pink or yellow mold. 

These and all other molds are living plants. Instead of 
seeds they produce many very small bodies that serve the 
purpose of seeds and reproduce the mold. These are called 
spores. Fig. %2 shows how they are borne on the parent 
plant. 

It is also of great importance to decide whether by keep- 
ing the spores away we may prevent mold. Possibly this 
experiment will help us. Moisten a piece of bread, then 





Fig. 82. Tangled Threads of Blue Mold 
The single stalk on left shows how spores are borne 



96 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 




Fig. 83. Magnified Rose Mildew 



dip a match or a pin into the bkie mold on a lemon, and 

draw the match across the moist bread. You will thus 

plant the spores in a row ; 
they are so small that 
perhaps you may not see 
any of them. Place the 
bread in a damp place 
for a few days and watch 
it. Does the mold grow 
where you planted it .-' 
Does it grow elsewhere ^ 
This experiment should 
prove to you that molds 
are living things and can 

be planted. If you find spots elsewhere, you must remember 

that these spores are very small and light and were probably 

blown about when 

you made your sow- 
ing. When you 

touch the moldy 

portion of a dry 

lemon, you see a 

cloud of dust rise. 

This dust is made 

of millions of 

spores. 

If you plant 

many other kinds 

of mold, you will 

find that the molds "come true" to the kind that is 

planted ; that like produces like even among molds. 




Fig. 84. A Mildewed Rose 



THE DISEASES OF PLANTS 



97 



You can also prove that mold is caused only by other 
mold. To do this, put some wet bread in a wide-mouthed 
bottle and plug the opening with cotton. Kill all the 
spores that may be in this bottle by steaming one hour 




Fig. 85. A Highly Magnified Section of Diseased Pear Leaf 
Showing how spores are borne 

in the cooking steamer. This bread will not mold until 
you allow live mold from the outside to enter. If, how- 
ever, at any time you open the bottle and allow spores 
to enter, or if you plant spores therein, and if there Le 
moisture enough, mold will immediately set in. 



98 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

The little plants which make up these molds are called 
fungi. Some fungi are quite large, as, for example, the 
toadstools, puffballs, and Devil's snuff-box ; others very 
small, as the molds ; and others even smaller than the 
molds. Fungi never have the green color of ordinary 
plants, always reproduce by spores, and feed on living 
matter or matter that was once alive. Puffballs, for 
example, are found on rotting wood or dead twigs or 
roots. Some fungi grow on living plants, and these 
produce plant disease by taking their nourishment from 
the plant which they grow upon; the latter plant is then 
called the host. 

The same blue mold that grows on bread often attacks 
apples that have been slightly bruised; it cannot pierce 
healthy apple skin. You can plant the mold in the bruised 
apple, just as you did on bread, and watch its rapid spread 
through the apple. You learn from this the need of pre- 
venting bruised or decayed apples from coming in contact 
with healthy fruit. 

Just as this fungus lives in the apple or bread, so other 
varieties live on leaves, bark, etc. Fig. 83 represents the 
surface of a mildewed rose leaf very greatly magnified. 
This mildew is a fungus. You can see its creeping stems, 
its upright stalk, and numerous spores ready to fall off and 
spread the disease with the first breath of wind. You must 
remember that this figure is greatly magnified, and that 
the whole portion shown in the figure is only about one 
tenth of an inch across. Fig. 84 shows the general appear- 
ance of a twig affected by this disease. 

This mildew on the rose or on any plant so affected may 
be killed by spraying the leaves with a solution of liver of 



THE DISEASES OF PLANTS 



99 



sulphur ; to make this solution, use one ounce of the liver 
of sulphur to two gallons of water. 

The fungus that causes the pear leaf spots has its 
spores in little pits (Fig. 85). The spores of some fungi 
also grow on stalks, as in Fig. 86. This figure repre- 
sents an enlarged view of the pear scab, which causes so 
much destruction. 

You see, then, that fungi are living plants that grow 
at the expense of other plants and cause disease. Now 




Fig. 86 
The spores of the pear scab fungus are borne on stalks 

if you can cover the leaf with a poison that will kill the 
spore when it comes, you can prevent the disease. One 
such poison is the Bordeaux mixture (pronounced bor-do^), 
which has proved of great value to farmers. 

Since the fungus in most cases lives within the leaves, 
the poison on the outside does no good after the fungus is 
established. The treatment can be used only to prevent 
attack, not to cure, except in the case of a few mildews that 
live upon the outside of the leaf, as does the rose mildew. 



lOO AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



EXERCISE 

Why do things mold more readily in damp places ? Do you now 
understand why fruit is heated before it is canned? Try to grow 
several kinds of mold. Do you know many edible fungi ? 

Transfer disease from a rotten apple to a healthy one and note the 
rapidity of decay. How many really healthy leaves can you find on a 
strawberry plant ? Do you find any spots with reddish borders and 
white centers? Do you know that this is a serious disease of the 
strawberry ? What damage does fruit mold do to peaches, plums, 
or strawberries? 

Write to your Experiment Station for Bulletins on plant diseases 
and methods for making and using the Bordeaux mixture. 



SECTION XXVI — YEAST AND BACTERIA 

Can you imagine a plant so small that it would take one 
hundred plants lying side by side to equal the thickness 
of a sheet of writing paper ? There are plants that are 
so small. Moreover, these same plants are of very great 
importance to man in two ways. Some of them do him 
great injury, while others aid him very much. 

You will recognize their importance when I tell you that 
certain of them in their habits of life cause great change 
in the substances that they live in. For example, when 
living in a sugary substance, they change the sugar into 
a gas and an alcohol. Do you remember the bright bub- 
bles of gas you have seen rising in sweet cider or in wine 
as it soured ? These bubbles are caused by one of these 
small plants, the yeast plant. As the yeast plant grows 
in the sweet fruit juice, alcohol is made and a gas is given 
off at the same time, and this gas makes the bubbles. 



THE DISEASES OF PLANTS 



lOI 



Later, other kinds of plants equally small will grow and 
change the alcohol into an acid, which you will recognize 
by its sour taste and peculiar odor. Thus vinegar is made 
by the action of two different kinds of little living plants 
in the cider. That these are living beings you can prove 
by heating the cider and keeping it tightly sealed so that 
nothing can enter the can. You will find that, the living 
germs being killed by the heat, the cider will not ferment 
or sour as it did before. The germs could of course be 
killed by poisons, but then 
the cider would be unfit for 
use. It is also this same 
little yeast plant that causes 
bread to rise. 

WTien you see any decay- 
ing matter, you may know 
that in it minute plants much 
like the yeast plant are at 
work. Since decay is due 
to them, we take advantage 
of the fact that they cannot grow in strong brme or smoke, 
and thus prepare meat for keeping by salting it or by 
smoking it or by both of these methods. 

You see that some of the yeast plants and bacteria, as 
many of these forms are called, are very friendly to us, 
while others do us great harm. 

Some bacteria grow within the body of man and other 
animals or in plants. When they do so, they may pro- 
duce disease. Typhoid fever, diphtheria, consumption, 
and many other serious diseases are caused by bacteria. 
Fig. 88, e, shows the bacterium that causes typhoid fever. 




Fig. 87. Yeast Plants 

A, a single plant ; B, group of two 
budding cells 




d e IS"^^ / / 

Forms of Bacteria 

ubonic plague ; c, diphth 
d, tuberculosis ; e, typhoid fever 



102 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

In the picture, it is of course very greatly magnified. In 
reality these bacteria are so small that about twenty-five 
thousand of them side by side would extend only one inch. 
Such small beings produce such great effects by their very 
rapid multiplication, and ^ by giving off very power- 
ful poisons. 

Bacteria are so small 
that they are readily borne 
on the dust particles of 
the air and are often taken 

a, grippe; b bubonic plague; .diphtheria; -^^^ ^^^ ^ , through the 

breath or through water 
or milk. You can see how careful you should be and 
what precaution you should take to prevent germs from 
getting into the air or into water or milk when there is 
disease about your home. You should heed carefully all 
instructions of your physician on this point, so that you 
may not spread disease. 

SECTION XXVII — PREVENTION OF PLANT DISEASES 

In the last two sections you have learned something of 
the nature of those fungi and bacteria that cause disease 
in animals and plants. Now let us see how we can use 
this knowledge to lessen the diseases of our crops. Farmers 
lose through plant diseases very much that could be saved 
by proper precaution. 

First, you must remember that every diseased fruit, 
twig, or leaf bears millions of spores. These must be 
destroyed by burning. They must not be allowed to lie 
about and spread the disease in the spring. See that 



THE DISEASES OF PLANTS IO3 

decayed fruit in the bin or on the trees is destroyed in 
the same manner. Never throw such decayed fruit into 
the garden or orchard, as it may cause disease the follow- 
ing year. 

Second, you can often kill spores on seeds before they are 
planted, and thus prevent the development of the fungus. 
(See pages 107-109). 

Third, often the foliage of the plant can be sprayed with 
a poison that will prevent the germination of the spores 
(see pages 11 i-i 15). 

Fourth, some varieties of plants resist disease much 
more stoutly than others. We may often select the 
resistant form to great advantage (see Fig. 89). 

Fifth, after big limbs are pruned off, decay often sets in 
at the wound. This decay may be prevented by coating 
the cut surface with paint, tar, or some other substance 
that will not allow spores to enter the wounded place or 
to germinate there. Many a tree could be saved by this 
precaution. 

Sixth, it frequently happens that the spore or fungus 
remains in the soil. This is true in the cotton wilt, and the 
remedy is to so rotate crops that the diseased land is not used 
again for this crop until the spores or fungi have died. 

SECTION XXVIII— SOME SPECIAL PLANT DISEASES 

Fire Blight of the Pear and Apple. You have perhaps 
heard your father speak of the "fire blight" of the pear 
and apple trees. This is one of the most injurious and 
most widely known of fruit diseases. Do you want to 
know the cause of this disease and how to prevent it ? 



I04 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

First, how will you recognize this disease ? If the dis- 
eased bough at which you are looking has true fire blight, 
you will see a blackened twig with withered, blackened 
leaves. During winter the leaves do not fall from blighted 
twigs as they do from healthy ones. The leaves wither 
because of the diseased twig, not because they are them- 
selves diseased. Only rarely does the blight really enter 
the leaf. Sometimes a sharp line separates the blighted 
from the healthy part of the twig. 

The fire blight is caused by bacteria, of which you have 
read in another section. These bacteria grow in the juicy 
part of the stem between the wood and the bark. This 
tender, fresh layer is called the cambium, and is the part that 
breaks away and allows you to slip the bark off when you 
make your bark whistle in the spring. The growth of 
new wood takes place in the cambium, and this part of 
the twig is therefore full of nourishment. If this nourish- 
ment is stolen, the plant of course soon suffers. 

The bacteria causing this disease are readily carried 
from flower to flower and from twig to twig by insects, and 
to keep all bacteria away from your trees you must see to 
it that all the trees in the neighborhood of your orchard 
are kept free from mischievous bacterial enemies. If they 
exist in near-by trees, insects will carry them to your 
orchard. You must therefore watch all the relatives of the 
pear ; namely, the apple, hawthorn, crab, quince, and moun- 
tain ash, for any of these trees may harbor the germs. 

When any tree shows blight, every diseased twig on it 
must be cut off and burned in order to kill the germs, and 
you must cut low enough on the twig to get all the bac- 
teria. It is best to cut a foot below the blackened portion. 




Pi % 



los 



io6 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



If by chance your knife should cut into wood containing 
the living germs, and then you should cut into healthy 
wood with the same knife, you yourself would spread the 
disease. It is therefore best after each cutting to dip your 
knife into a solution of carbolic acid. This will kill all 
bacteria clinging to the knife blade. After the leaves fall 
in the autumn is the surest time to do complete trimming, 
as it is easiest then to recognize diseased twigs, but the 

orchard should be carefully 
watched in spring also. If 
a large limb shows the blight, 
it is perhaps best to cut the 
tree entirely down. There 
is little hope for such a tree. 
A large pear grower once 
said that no man with a sharp 
knife need fear the fire blight. 
Yet our country loses largely 
by this disease each year. 

It may be added that win- 
ter pruning tends to make 
the tree form much new wood and thus favors the disease. 
Rich soil and fertilizers in a similar way make it much 
easier for the tree to "catch the blight." 




Fig. 90. Fire Blight Bacteria 

Magnified 



EXERCISE 

Ask your teacher to show you a case of fire blight on a pear or 
apple tree. Can you distinguish between healthy and diseased wood.? 
Cut the twig open lengthwise and see how deep into the wood and 
how far down the stem the disease extends. Can you tell surely 
from the outside how far the twig is diseased ? Can you find any twig 



THE DISEASES OF PLANTS 



107 



that does not show a distinct line of separation between diseased and 
healthy wood? If so, the bacteria are still living in the cambium. 
Cut out a small bit of the diseased portion and insert it under the 
bark of a healthy, juicy twig within a few inches of its tip and watch 
it from day to day. Does the tree " catch " the disease ? This experi- 
ment may prove to you how easily the disease spreads. If you should 
see any drops like dew hanging from diseased twigs, touch a little 
of this moisture to a healthy flower and watch for results. 

Cut and burn all diseased twigs that you can find. Estimate the 
damage done by this disease. 

Farmers' Bulletin No. 153, on Orchard Enemies, published by the 
Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., can be had by writing 
for it, and will help your father much in treating fire blight. 



Oat and Wheat Smuts. Let us go out into the oat or 
wheat field and look for all the blackened heads of grain 
that we can find. How many are there .'' To count accu- 
rately let us select an area one foot square. We must 
look sharply, for many 
of these blackened 
heads are so low that 
we shall not see them 
at first glance. You 
will be surprised to 
find as many as thirty 
or forty heads so 
blackened in every 
hundred. These 
blackened heads are due to a plant disease called smut. 

When threshing time comes, you will surely notice a 
great quantity of black dust coming from the grain as it 
passes through the machine. The air is full of it. This 
black dust consists of the spores of a tiny fungus plant. 




Fig. 91. A Three Day Old 
Wheat Plant 

Smut attacks plants only about this age 



io8 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



The smut plant grows upon the wheat or oat plant, ripens 
its spores in the head, and is ready to be thoroughly 
scattered among the grains of wheat or oats as they come 
from the threshing machine. 

These spores cling to the grain and at the next planting 
are ready to attack the sprouting plantlet. A curious 

thing about the smut is that it 
can gain foothold only on very 
young oat or wheat plants; that 
is, on plants about an inch long 
or of the age shown in Fig. 91. 
When grain covered with smut 
spores is planted, the spores 
develop with the sprouting seeds 
and are ready to attack the 
young plant as it breaks through 
the seed coat. You see, then, 
how important it is to have seed 
grain free from smut. A sub- 
stance has been found that will, 
without injuring the seeds, kill 
all the smut spores clinging to 
the grain. This substance is 
formalin. Enough seeds to 
plant a whole acre can be treated 
with this formalin at a cost of only a few cents. Such 
treatment insures a full crop and clean seed for future 
planting. 

Fig. 92 illustrates what may be gained by using seeds 
treated to prevent smut. The annual loss to the farmers 
of the United States from smut on grain amounts to 




m^^>M 



Fig. 92. Treated and 
Untreated Wheat 



THE DISEASES OF PLANTS 



109 



several millions of dollars. All that is needed to prevent 
this loss is a little care in the treatment of seeds. 

EXERCISE 

Count the smutted heads on a patch three feet square and estimate 
the percentage of smut in all the wheat and oat fields near your 
home. On which is it most abundant ? Do you know of any fields 
that have been treated for smut.'' If so, look for smut in these fields. 
Ask how they were treated. Do you know of any one who uses 
bluestone for wheat smut ? Can oats be treated with bluestone ? 

At planting time get an ounce of formalin at your drug store or 
from the State Experiment Station. Mix this with three gallons of 
water. This amount will treat three bushels of seeds. Spread the 
seeds thinly upon the barn floor and sprinkle them with the mixture, 
being careful tliat all the seeds are thoroughly moistened. Cover 
closely with blankets for a few hours and plant very soon after treat- 
ment. Try this and estimate the per cent of smut at next harvest time. 
Write to your Experiment Station for a bulletin upon smut treatment. 





Fig. 93 
A Scabby Seed Potato 



Fig. 94 
A Healthy Seed Potato 



The Potato Scab. The scab of the white, or Irish, potato 
is one of the commonest and at the same time most easily 
prevented of plant diseases. Yet this disease diminishes 
the profits of the potato grower very materially. Fig. 93 
shows a very scabby potato, while Fig. 94 represents a 
healthy one. 




Fig. 95 



Fig. 96 



From a scabby potato, like the one From a healthy potato, like the one 
in Fig. 93, this yield was obtained in Fig. 94, this yield was obtained 







Fig. 97 
Sprayed potatoes on left ; unsprayed on right 






THE DISEASES OF PLANTS 



III 



This scab is caused by a fungous growth upon the surface 
of the potato. It of course lessens the selHng price of the 
potatoes. If seed potatoes be treated to a bath of for- 
mahn just before they are planted, the formalin will kill 
the adhering fungi and greatly diminish the amount of 
scab at the next harvest. 

Before planting, seed potatoes should be soaked in a weak 
solution of formalin for about two hours. One half pint of 
forn^lin to fifteen gallons of water makes a proper solution. 





Fig. 98. Yield from Two Fields of Same Size 
The one at top was sprayed ; the one at bottom was unsprayed 

One pint of formalin, or enough for thirty gallons of water, 
will cost but seventy-five cents. Since this solution can be 
used repeatedly, it will do for many bushels of seed potatoes. 

Late Potato Blight. The blight is another serious dis- 
ease of the potato. This is quite a different disease from 
the scab and so requires different treatment. The blight 



112 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



is caused by another fungus, which attacks the foliage of 
the potato plant. When the blight seriously attacks a 
crop, it generally destroys the crop completely. In the 
year 1845 a potato famine extending over all the United 
States and Europe was caused by this disease. 




Fig. 99. Spraying Machine 



Spraying is the remedy for this disease. Fig. 98 
shows the effect of spraying upon the yield. In this case 
the sprayed field yielded three hundred and twenty-four 
bushels an acre, while the unsprayed yielded only one 
hundred bushels to each acre. Fig. 97 shows the result 
of three applications of the spraying mixture upon the 



THE DISEASES OF PLANTS 



113 



diseased field. 
is done. 



Figs. 99 and 100 show how the spraying 



EXERCISE 



Watch the potatoes at the next harvest and estimate the number 
that is damaged by scab. You will remember that formalin is the 
substance used to prevent grain smuts. Write to your State Experi- 
ment Station for a bulletin telling how to use formalin, as v/eW as for 




Fig. 100. Spraying Machine 



information regarding other potato diseases. Give the treatment a 
fair trial in a portion of your field this year, and watch carefully for 
results. Make an estimate of the cost of treatment and of the profits. 
How does the scab injure the value of the potato ? The late blight 
can often be recognized by its odor. Did you ever smell it as you 
passed an affected field ? 



114 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



The Club Root. The club root is a disease of the cab- 
bage, turnip, cauliflower, etc. Its general effect is shown 
in the illustration (Fig. loi). Sometimes this disease does 
great damage. It can be prevented by the use of lime at 
the rate of from eighty to ninety bushels per acre. 

The Black Knot. The black knot is a serious disease of 
the plum and cherry tree. It attacks the branches of the 
tree and is well illustrated in Fig. 102. Since it is a con- 
tagious disease, great care should be exercised to destroy 
all diseased branches of the wild or cultivated plums or 




Fig. ioi. Club Root 



cherries. In many states its destruction is enforced by 
law. All black knot should be cut out and burned some 
time before February of each year. This will cost little 
and save much. 



THE DISEASES OF PLANTS 



115 



The Peach Curl. The peach curl does damage amounting 
to about $3,000,000 yearly in the United States, It can 
be almost entirely prevented by spraying with Bordeaux 




Fig. 102. Black Knot 
From Hodge's " Nature Study and Life," Ginn & Company 

mixture or lime-sulphur wash before the buds open in the 
spring. Strong Bordeaux mixture should not be used on 
peach trees when they are in leaf. 

The Cotton Wilt. Cotton wilt completely destroys the crop 
when it once establishes itself in the soil. The fungus 



ii6 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



remains in the soil and no amount of spraying will avail. 

The only known remedy is to cultivate a resistant variety of 

cotton or to rotate the 
crop. 

The Fruit Mold. Fruit 
mold, or brown rot, often 
attacks the unripe fruit 
on the tree, and turns 
it soft and brown and 




Fig. 103. Moldy Peaches 

finally fuzzy with a coat of mildew. 
Fig. 103 shows some peaches 
thus attacked. Often the fruits 
do not fall from the trees but 
shrivel up and become "mum- 
mies" (Fig. 104). This rot is one 
of the most serious diseases of 
plums and peaches. It proba- 
bly diminishes the value of the 
peach harvest from fifty to 
seventy-five per cent. It can be 
largely prevented by spraying 

the tree several times with the self-boiled lime-sulphur 
wash, as directed in the Appendix. 




Fig. 104. Peach Mummies 




*<* W T ' » ■ *<>'»' 




Fig. 105. Half of Tree sprayed to prevent Peach Curl 

Note difference in foliage and fruit on the sprayed and unsprayed halves, and 
the difference in yield. From Bulletin No. 20 (Veg. Phys. and Path.), 
United States Department of Agriculture 



117 



CHAPTER VI 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 



SECTION XXIX — INSECTS IN GENERAL 



The farmer who has fought "bugs " on crop after crop 
needs no argument to convince him that insects are serious 
enemies to agriculture. Yet even he may be surprised to 

learn that the damage 
done by them, as esti- 
mated by good author- 
ity, is as high as four 
hundred million dollars 
yearly for the United 
States and Canada. 

Every one thinks he 
knows what an insect is. 
If, however, we are 
willing in this matter to 
make our notion agree 
with that of the people 
who have studied insects 
most and know them 
best, we must include among the true insects only such air- 
breathing animals as have six legs, no more, and have the 
body divided into three parts, — head, thorax, and abdomen. 
These parts are clearly shown in Fig. io6, which represents 

ii8 




Fig. io6. Ants 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 119 



the ant, a true insect. All insects do not show the divisions 
of the body so clearly as this figure shows them, but on 



Ovipositor 




Fig. 107. Parts of an Insect 

careful examination you can usually make them out. The 
head bears one pair of feelers, which in many insects also 
serve as organs of hearing and 
sometimes of smell. Less promi- 
nent feelers are to be found in the 
region of the mouth. These serve 
as organs of taste. 

The eyes of insects are conspic- 
uous. Close examination shows 
them to be made up of a thousand 
or more simple eyes. Such an 
eye is called a compound eye. An 
enlarged view of one of these is 
shown in Fig. 108. 

Attached to the thorax are the legs and also the wings, 
if the insect have wings. The rear portion is the abdomen, 




Fig. 108. Compound Eye 
OF Dragon Fly 



I20 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



and this, like the other parts, is composed of joints. The 
insect breathes through openings in the abdomen called 
spiracles (see Fig. 107). 

An examination of spiders, mites, and ticks shows eight 
legs; therefore these do not belong to the true insects, nor 
do the thousand-legged worms and their relatives. 

The chief classes of insects are as follows: the flics, 
with two wings only; the bees, wasps, and ants, with four 
delicate wings; the beetles, 
with four wings, — two hard, 
horny ones covering the two 
more delicate ones. When \ ^^/; 





<^, egg 



Fig. 109. The House Fly 

; b, larva, or maggot ; c, pupa ; d, adult male. (All enlarged.) From Hodge's 
" Nature Study and Life," Ginn & Company 



the beetle is at rest its two hard wings meet in a straight 
Hne down the back. This peculiarity distinguishes it from 
the true bug, which has four wings. The two outer wings 
are partly horny, and in folding lap over each other. 
Butterflies and moths are much alike in appearance, but 
differ in habit. The butterfly works by day and the moth 
by night. Note the knob on the end of the butterfly's 
feeler. The moth has no such knob. 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 121 




a 

Fig. iio. A Bug 

b, side view of sucking, moiitli part 



It is important to know how insects take their food, for 
by knowing this we are able oftentimes to destroy insect 
pests. Some are pro- 
vided with mouth parts 
fitted to bite their food ; 
others have a long tube 
with which they pierce 
plants or animals, and, 
like the mosquito, suck 
their food from the in- 
side. The insects of this 
latter class cannot of 
course be harmed by 
poison on the surface 
of the leaves on which 
they feed. 

Many insects change 
their form from youth to 
old age so much that you 
can scarcely recognize 
them as the same beings. 
First comes the ^gg. 
The Qgg hatches into a 
wormlike animal known 
as grub, or caterpillar, or 
more accurately larva. 
This creature settles 
down and spins a home 
of silk, called a cocoon (Fig. 1 15). If we open the cocoon, 
we shall find that the animal is now covered with a hard 
outside skeleton, and that it cannot move freely, and that 




Fig. III. Beetle 
Larva, pupa, adult, and burrow 



122 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



it cannot eat at all. An animal in this state is known as 
Xh& pupa (Figs. 115 and 119). Sometimes, however, the 
pupa is not covered by a cocoon, is soft, and has some 
power of motion. After a rest in the pupa stage, the 
animal emerges as a mature insect (Figs. 112 and 113). 




Fig. 112. Moth and Cocoon 
From Hodge's " Nature Study and Life," Ginn & Company 



From this you can see that it is especially important to 
know all the steps in the life of injurious insects, since it 
is often easier to kill the pest at one stage of its life than 
at another. Sometimes we do better to aim at the appar- 
ently harmless beetle or butterfly than to try to destroy the 




Pig. 113. BUITERFLY 

From Dickerson's " Moths and Butterflies," Ginn & Company 



Abdomen- o^Bidierflij 



77itfr«i- ofBuUerflyS 





Head, 



■^-''*_y-A/^'^"- W 



V \' *i. 



/ " "■ ~V ^ ' TrueLegs 

Spiracle Prhle'gs- (ButterRijLegs) 

(Temporary Caterpillcir 
Structures j 



Fig. 114. Structure of the Caterpillar 

From Dickerson's " Moths and Butterflies," Ginn & Company 

123 



124 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



larvae that hatch from its eggs, since, as you must remem- 
ber, it is generally the larvae that do most harm. While 
in the larval stage, growth is very rapid; therefore the 
food supply must be very great to meet the insect's needs. 

1 




Fig. 115. Moth Pupa in Cocoon 
From Dickerson's " Moths and Butterflies," Ginn & Company 

Some insects, like the grasshopper, do not completely 
change form. Fig. 1 1 7 represents young grasshoppers, 
which very closely resemble their parents. 

Insects lay many eggs and reproduce with wonderful 
rapidity. They thus make up in number what they lack 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 12$ 



in size. The queen honeybee often lays as many as four 
thousand eggs in twenty-four hours. A single house fly 
lays between one hundred 
and two hundred eggs in one 
night. The mosquito lays 
eggs in quantities of from 
two hundred to four hundred. 
The white ant often lays 
eighty thousand in a day, and 
so continues for two years, 
probably laying no less than 
forty million eggs. The blue- 
bottle fly in one summer has 
five hundred million descend- 
ants. The plant louse at the 
end of the fifth brood has pro- 
duced in a single year six trillion 
young, and that is not all of 




Fig. ii6. A Butterfly Pupa 

Note outline of butterfly. (From Dick- 
erson's " Moths and Butterflies," 
Ginn & Company) 



which she is capable. Of course. every 

one knows that owing to enemies and 

disease comparatively few of the insects 

hatched from these 

eggs live to be 




grown. 



EXERCISE 



Fig. 117 
The Growth 
OF A Grass- 
hopper 



Collect cocoons and 
pupae of insects and 
hatch them in a breed- 
ing cage similar to the 
one illustrated in Fig. 119. Make several cages of this kind. Collect 
larvae of several kinds ; supply them with food from plants upon 



126 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



which you found them. Find out the time it takes them to change 
into another stage. Write a description of this process. 

The plant louse produces in its twelfth brood 10,000,000,000,000,. 
000,000,000 offspring. These are about one tenth of an inch long. 

If all should live, how many miles 
long would such a procession be if 
arranged in single file? 





Fig. iiS. Plant Lice 



Fig. 119. Cage in which 
TO BREED Insects 

Flowerpot, lamp chimney, and 
cloth. (From a photograph 
furnished by Mrs. Anna B. 
Comstock, Cornell University.) 



SECTION XXX — ORCHARD INSECTS 



The San Josd Scale was one of the most dreaded enemies 
of fruit trees. It is in fact an outlaw in many states. It 
is an illegal act to sell fruit trees affected by it. Fig. 120 
shows a view of a branch nearly covered with this pest. 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 12/ 



Although this scale is a very minute animal, yet so rapidly 
does it multiply that it is very dangerous to the tree. 
Never allow new trees to be brought into your orchard 
without positive knowledge that they are free from the 
scale. If, however, this scale should in any way gain 
access to your orchard, you can prevent its spreading by 




Fig. 1 20. San Jose Scale 



Fig. 121. Single San Jos6 Scale 



From a drawing furnished by the (Magnified.) From an engraving furnished by 
United States Department of the United States Department of Agricul- 

Agriculture ture 

thorough spraying with the fire-boiled lime-sulphur mixture. 
This mixture has long been used on the Pacific coast as a 
remedy for various scale insects. When it was first tried 
in other parts of the United States, the results were not 
satisfactory, and its use was abandoned. However, later 
experiments with it have proved that this mixture is thor- 
oughly effective in killing this scale, and that it is perfectly 
harmless to the trees. Until its utility was proved, the 



128 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



San Jose scale was a most dreaded nursery and orchard foe. 
It was even thought necessary to destroy trees when they 
became infected. 

The hme-sulphur mixture and some modifications of it, 
known as sulphur washes, not only kill the San Jose scale 
but are also useful in reducing fungous injury. 




Fig. 122. The Codling Moth 

a, burrow of worm in apple ; b, place where egg was laid ; e, the larva ; d, the pupa ; 
i, the cocoon ; / and g, moths 

There are several ways of making the lime-sulphur 
mixture. If you find the scale on your trees, write to your 
State Experiment Station for directions for combating it. 

The Codling Moth attacks the apple, causing oftentimes 
a loss of from twenty-five to seventy-five per cent of the 




Fig. 123. A Trap for the Codling Moth 

The end of the lower band has been turned back to the left to show cocoons of 
the moth. (From a photograph furnished by J. M. Aldrich of the Experi- 
ment Station of Idaho.) 



129 



I30 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

crop. In the state of New York this msect causes an 
annual loss of about three million dollars. The effect on 
the fruit is readily seen in Fig. 122. The moth lays the egg 
on the young apple just after the fall of the blossom. She 
flies from apple to apple, depositing an egg each time until 
from fifty to three hundred eggs are deposited. The larva, 
or " worm," soon hatches and eats its way into the apple. 
The affected apples ripen too soon and drop as " wind- 
falls." The larva then emerges from the apple, moves 
generally to a tree, crawls up the trunk, and spins its 
cocoon under a ridge in the bark. From the cocoon the 
moth comes ready to start a new generation. The last 
generation of the season spends the winter in the cocoon. 

Treatment . Destroy orchard trash which may serve as 
winter quarters. Spray the tree with Paris green as soon 
as the flowers fall. Trap the worms by cloth bands 
wrapped about the tree trunk about four weeks after the 
blossoms fall. The following is a practical way of trap- 
ping. Make four-inch bands of cotton flannel, burlap, or 
heavy paper, and fasten them closely around the trunk 
(Fig. 123). Since the moth nearly always climbs the tree 
in search of a place to spin its cocoon, and stops under the 
first shelter, this band will catch most of them. Collect 
and destroy the larvae or cocoons that you secure once 
every six days. As many as one hundred and ten larvae 
have been thus caught on one tree in one week. If these 
had all emerged as moths, how many apples could they 
have destroyed } 

It is best to use the Bordeaux mixture with arsenate of 
lead for a spray. This prevents fungi and insects by one 
spraying (see Appendix). 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 131 

The Plum Curculio, sometimes called the plum weevil, is a 
little fellow about one fifth of an inch long, that, notwith- 
standing its diminutive size, does, if neglected, great damage 
to our fruit crop. It injures the fruit by stinging it as 
soon as it is formed. The word stinging when applied to 
insects, and this case is no exception, means piercing the 
object with the egg-layer (ovipositor) and depositing the 
z^g. Some insects occasionally use the ovipositor merely 
for defense. The curculio has an especially interesting 




Fig. 124. Plum Curculio 
Larva, pupa, adult, and mark on the fruit. (Enlarged.) 

method of laying its &gg. First she digs a hole, places 
the ^gg in it, and pushes it well down. Then she makes a 
crescent-shaped cut with her snout in the skin of the plum 
around the ^gg. This mark is shown in Fig. 1 24. As this 
peculiar cut is followed by a flow of gum, you will always 
be able to recognize the work of the curculio. Having fin- 
ished with one plum, this industrious worker shows similar 
courtesy to other plums until her eggs are all laid. The 
maggot -like larva soon hatches, burrows through the fruit, 
and causes it to drop before ripening. The larva then enters 



132 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



-X 



the ground to a depth of several inches. There it becomes 
a pupa, and then a mature beetle that emerges to winter in 
cracks and crevices. 

Treatment. Burn orchard trash which may serve as 
winter quarters. When the curculio is laying its eggs, it 
may be made to fall to the ground by jarring the tree. 
After its fall it will remain quiet for a few minutes, " play- 
ing possum." By spreading a sheet under the tree and 

jarring the tree we can 
collect and destroy 
enough insects to pre- 
vent serious injury. Jar 
the tree by striking a 
dead branch or by strik- 
ing the tree with a heavy 
stick wrapped in cloth. 
Another remedy is to 
spray the trees twice with 
a mixture of arsenate of 
lead (two pounds) and lime 
(three pounds) in fifty gal- 
lons of water. 
Fowls in the orchard do good by capturing the larvae 
before they can burrow, while hogs will destroy the fallen 
fruit before the larvae can escape. 

The Grape Phylloxera. This is a serious pest. You have 
no doubt seen its galls upon the grape leaf. These galls 
are caused by a small louse, the Phylloxera. Each gall 
contains a female, which soon fills the gall with eggs. 
These hatch into more females, which emerge and form 
new galls, and so the Phylloxera spreads. 




. \ 



Fig. 125. Leaf Galls of Phylloxera 
ON Clinton Grape Leaf 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 133 




Fig. 126 
The Cankerworm 



Treatment. The Clinton grape is most liable 
to injury from this pest. Hence it is better to 
grow other more resistant kinds. If the lice 
disturb the roots, apply carbon disulphide, one 
part of disulphide to three parts of hot water. 

Cov^er closely with earth the part treated, to 
prevent the evaporation of the mixture. 

The Cankerworm is the larva of a moth. 
Because of its peculiar mode of crawling, by 
looping its body, it is often called the looping 
worm or measuring worm (Fig. 127, c). These worms 
are such greedy eaters that in a short time they can 
so cut the leaves of an orchard as to give it a scorched 
appearance. Such an attack practically destroys the 
crop and does permanent injury to the tree. The 
worm is green or brown and is striped lengthwise. If the 
tree is jarred, the worm has a peculiar habit of dropping 






134 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



toward the ground on a silken thread of its own making 
(Fig. 126). 

In early summer the larvae burrow within the earth, 
pupate, and later emerge as adults (Fig. 127, <^and e). You 
observe the peculiar difference between the wingless female, 
d, and the winged male, e. It is the habit of this wingless 




Fig. 127. The Spring Cankerworm 
a, egg mass ; /', egg, magnified ; c, larva ; d, female moth ; e, male moth 



female to crawl up the trunk of some near-by tree in order 
to deposit her eggs upon the twigs. These eggs hatch into 
the greedy larvae that do so much damage to our orchards. 
Nearly all of the common birds feed freely upon the 
cankerworm, and benefit the orchard in so doing. The 
chickadee is perhaps the most useful. " A recent writer is 
very positive that each chickadee will devour on an average 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 135 



thirty female cankerworm moths a day. ... If the aver- 
age number of eggs laid by each female is one hundred 
and eighty-five, one chickadee would thus destroy in one 
day five thousand five hundred and fifty eggs, and in the 
twenty-five days in which the 
cankerworm moths crawl up 
the tree, would rid the orchard 
of one hundred and thirty- 
eight thousand seven hundred 
and fifty." These birds also 
eat immense numbers of 
cankerworm eggs before they 
hatch into worms. 

Tfeatmcnt. The inability 
of the female to fly gives us 
an easy opportunity to prevent 
the access of the larval off- 
spring to the foliage of our 
trees, for we know that the 
only highway open to her or 
her larvae leads up the trunk. 
We must obstruct this high- 
way so that no crawling crea- 
ture may pass. This is readily 
done by smoothing the bark 
and fitting close to it a band 
of paper, making sure that it is tight enough to prevent 
anything from crawling underneath. Then smear over the 
paper something so sticky that any moth or larva that 
attempts to pass will be entangled. Printer's ink will do 
very well, or you can buy either dendrolene or tanglefoot. 




Fig. 128. Eggs of the Fall 
Cankerworm 




Fig. 129. Apple-Tree Tent Caterpillar 
a, eggs ; 6, cocoon 



136 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 137 



Encourage the chickadee and all other birds, except the 
English sparrow, to stay in your orchard. This is easily 
done by providing food in time of need and by protection 
at all times. 

The Apple-Tree Tent Caterpillar is a larva so well known 
that you only need to be told how to guard against it. The 
mother of this caterpillar is a reddish 
moth. This insect passes the winter in 
the egg state on the twigs (Fig. 129, a). 

Treatment. There are three chief 
methods, (i) Destroy the eggs. The 
egg masses are readily seen in winter 
and may easily be collected and burned 
by boys. The chickadee eats great 
quantities of these eggs. {2) With 
torches burn the nests at dusk when all 
the worms are within. You must be 
very careful in burning or you will 
harm the young branches with their 
tender bark. (3) Encourage the resi- 
dence of birds. Urge your neighbors 
to make war on the larvae, too, since the 
pest spreads readily from farm to farm. 
Regularly sprayed orchards are rarely troubled by this pest. 

The Pear-Tree Girdler lays her eggs in the upper part of 
the twig. It is necessary that the larvae develop in dead 
wood. This the mother provides by girdling the twig so 
deeply that it will die and fall to the ground. 

Treatment. Since the larvae spend the winter in the 
dead twigs, burn these twigs in autumn or early spring, and 
thus destroy the pest. 




Fig. 130. The Pear- 
Tree Girdler at 
Work 

a, the girdler; b, the egg 
hole ; c, the groove cut 
by girdler ; e, the egg 



138 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Peach Borer. In Fig. 131 you see the effect of the 
borer's activity. These borers often girdle and thereby 
kill the tree. Fig. 132 shows the perfect state of the 
insect. The eggs are laid on the peach or plum trees near 
the ground. As soon as the larva emerges, it bores into 






Fig. 131. Borer Signs around Base of Peach Tree 
From Hodge's " Nature Study and Life," Ginn & Company 

the bark and there remains for months, passing through 
the pupa stage before it comes out to lay eggs for another 
generation. 

Treatment. If there are only a few trees in the orchard, 
digging the worms out with a knife is the best way of 
destroying them. You can know of the borer's presence 
by the exuding gum often seen on the tree trunk. 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 139 



EXERCISE 



How many apples per hundred do you find injured by the codling 
moth ? Collect some cocoons from a pear or apple tree in winter, place 
in a breeding cage, and watch for the moths that come out. Do you 
ever see the woodpecker hunting for these same cocoons ? Can you find 




Fig. 132. Peach-Tree Borers, Male and Female 

Female with broad yellow band across abdomen. (From Hodge's 
" Nature Study and Life," Ginn & Company.) 

cocoons that have been emptied by this bird? Estimate how many 
he considers a day's ration. How many apples does he thus save ? 

Watch the curculio lay her eggs in the plums, peaches, or cherries. 
What per cent of fruit is thus injured? Estimate the damage. 

Let the school offer a prize for the greatest number of tent cater- 
pillar eggs. Watch all trees, such as apple, wild and cultivated 
cherry, oak, and many others. 



I40 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Make a collection of insects injurious to orchard fruits, showing in 
each case the whole life history of the insect, i.e. eggs, larva, pupa, 
and the mature insects. 



SECTION XXXI — GARDEN AND FIELD INSECTS 

The Cabbage Worm of the early spring garden is a 
familiar object, but you may not know that the innocent- 
looking little white butterfly hovering about the cabbage 
patch is laying eggs which are soon to hatch and make 
the dreaded cabbage worms. Fig. 134 shows the butterfly 
and several stages of the larvae. Fig. d 
shows the pupa case. You may find 
these cases during winter on the plants 
or under boards or trash or stones. 
If you kill these pupae, you have the 
satisfaction of knowing that you have 
prevented many cabbage worms that 
would have worked mischief the fol- 
lowing year. 

Treatment. Birds are a great aid in 
the destruction of this pest, Paris green 
on young plants will also kill many 
larvae. After the cabbage has headed, 
it is very difficult to destroy the worm. 
The Chinch Bug, attacking as it does such important crops 
as wheat, corn, and grasses, is a well-known pest. It prob- 
ably causes more money loss than any other garden or field 
enemy. In Orange County, North Carolina, farmers were 
once obliged to suspend wheat growing for two years on 
account of the chinch bug. In one year in the state of 
Illinois this bug caused a loss of four million dollars. 




Fig. 133 
The Chinch Bug 



I 




»X' ' 



^m 






\ 



-■-^ 







~>M&\ 



'/'■ 






Fig. 134. Cabbage Worms and Butterflies and their Enemies 
From original furnished by Minnesota Experiment Station 



141 



142 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Treatment. Unfortunately we cannot prevent all of 
the damage done by chinch bugs, but we can diminish it 
somewhat by good clean agriculture. Destroy their winter 
quarters by burning dry grass, leaves, and rubbish in 
fields and fence rows. Although 
the insect has wings, it seldom uses 
them, usually traveling on foot ; there- 
fore a deep furrow around the field 
to be protected will impede or stop 
the progress of an invasion. The 
bugs fall into the bottom of the fur- 
row, and may there be killed by 
spraying with kerosene emulsion. 
Write to the Division of Entomol- 
ogy, Washington, for Bulletin 15, on 
the chinch bug. Other methods of 
prevention are to be found in that 
bulletin. 

The Plant Louse is very diminu- 
tive, but is one of the most prolific 
of animals. During the summer the 
young are born alive, and it is only 
toward fall that eggs are resorted 
to. The individuals that hatch from 
eo-ofs differ from those born alive in 
that they have wings, and can move 
more rapidly from place to place. 

The plant louse gives off a sweetish fluid of which some 
ants are very fond. You may often see the ants stroking 
these lice to induce them to give off a more copious flow 
of the "honey dew." This is really a method of milking. 




Fig. 135. The Plant 
Louse 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 143 



However friendly and useful these " cows " may be to the 
ant, they are enemies to man. You may sometimes find 
your plant actually covered with these minute creatures. 

Treatment. These are sucking insects. Poisons there- 
fore do not avail. They may be killed by spraying with 
kerosene emulsion or a strong soap solution. 

The Squash Bug does its greatest damage to young 
plants. To such its attack is often fatal. On larger 
plants single leaves may die. This 
insect is a serious enemy to a crop, and 
is particularly difficult to get rid of, 
since it belongs to the class of sucking 
insects, not to the biting insects. For 
this reason poisons are useless. 

Treatment. About 
the only practicable 
remedy is to pick these 
insects by hand. We 
can, however, protect 
our young plants by 
small nettings, and thus 
tide them over the most 
dangerous period of 
their lives. The bugs greatly prefer the squash as food. 
You can, therefore, diminish their attack on your melons, 
cucumbers, etc., by planting among the melons an occa- 
sional squash plant as a " trap plant." Hand picking will 
be easier on a few trap plants than over the whole field, 
A small board laid beside the young plant often furnishes 
night shelter for the bugs. The bugs collected under the 
board may easily be killed every morning. 




Fig. 136. A Cheap Spraying Outfit 



144 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 




Fig. 137. A Squash Bug 



The Flea-Beetle inflicts much damage on the potato, 
tomato, eggplant, and other garden plants. The accom- 
panying figure shows the 
work of the flea-beetle 
upon the tomato. The 
larva of this beetle lives 
inside of the leaves, 
mining its way through 
the leaf in a real tunnel. 
Any substance disagree- 
able to the beetle, such 
as plaster, soot, ashes, or 

tobacco, will repel its attacks upon the garden. 

The Weevil is commonly found among seeds. Attacks of 

this insect are serious, but the insect may be easily destroyed. 
Treatment. Put the infected seeds in a tight box or bin, 

placing on the top of the pile a 

dish containing carbon disulphide, 

a tablespoonful to each bushel of 

seeds. The fumes of this sub- 
stance are heavy and will pass 

through the mass of seeds below 

and kill all the weevils and other 

animals there. The bin should 

be closely covered with canvas, or 

heavy cloth, to prevent the fumes 

from being carried away by the 

air. Let the seeds remain thus 

from two to five days. Cmition , 

bin with a light, since the fumes of the chemical used are 

highly inflammable. 




Fig. 138. Flea-Beetle 

AND Larva 

Lines on sides show real length 
of insects 

Do not approach the 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 145 




The Hessian Fly does more damage to the wheat crop 
than all other insects combined, and probably ranks next 
to the chinch bug as the second worst insect enemy of the 
farmer. It was probably introduced into this country by 
the Hessian troops in the war of the Revolution. 

In autumn the insect lays its eggs in the leaves of the 
wheat. These hatch into the larvae, which move down into 
the ground, where they 
pass the winter. There 
they cause on the plant 
a slight gall formation, 
which injures the plant. 
In spring an attack is 
made higher up on the 
stalk of the plant. 

Treatment. Burn all 
stubble and trash to kill 
the wintering insects. If the fly is very bad, it is well to 
leave the stubble unusually high to insure a rapid spread of 
the fire. Burn refuse from the threshing machine, since 
this often harbors many eggs. Some people advocate 
planting a decoy, or trap strip, of earlier wheat to catch 
the fly, and then destroying this strip with the flies on it. 
This method has not yet been thoroughly tried. If you 
wish to try it, be sure to turn your decoy crop under so 
deep that the fly cannot come to the surface. 

The Potato Beetle, Tobacco Worm, etc., are too well known 
to need description. Suffice it to say that no good farmer will 
neglect to protect his crop from any pest that threatens it. 

The increase, owing to various causes, of insects, of 
fungi, of bacterial diseases, makes a study of these pests, 



Fig. 139. The Hessian Fly 



146 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



of their origin, and of their prevention a necessary part of 
a successful farmer's training. Tillage alone will no longer 
render orchard, vineyard, and garden fruitful. Protection 
from disease must be added to tillage. 

In dealing with plants, as with human beings, the 
great object should be, not the cure, but the prevention 



Vr 




Fig. 140. Increasing the Yield of Fruit 

of disease. It is far too costly to wait for disease to 
develop and then to attempt its cure if the disease can 
be prevented. 

EXERCISE 

How many chinch bugs can you find in winter condition ? Are 
they worse in wet or dry weather? On what crops are they found.'' 

How does the squash bug resemble the plant louse? Is this a 
true bug? Gather some eggs and watch the development of the 



ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 147 

insects in a breeding cage. Estimate the damage done to some crops 
by the flea-beetle. What is the best method of prevention .'' 

Do you know the large moth that is the mother of the tobacco 
worm.'' You may often see her visiting the blossoms of the Jimson 
weed. Some tobacco growers cultivate a few of these weeds in a 




Fig. 141. Properly cared for 



tobacco field. In the blossom they place a little cobalt or " fly-stone " 
and sirup. When the tobacco-worm moth visits this flower and sips 
the poisoned nectar, she will of course lay no more troublesome 
tobacco-worm eggs. 



CHAPTER VII 
FARM CROPS 

Every crop of the farm has been changed and improved 
greatly since the forefathers of that crop were wild plants. 
Those plants that best serve the needs of the farmer and 
farm animals have undergone the greatest changes and 
have received also the greatest care and attention in their 
production and improvement. 

While we have very many different kinds of farm 
crops, the greater part of the cultivated area of the world 
is occupied by a very few. The crop that is most valu- 
able and that occupies the greatest land area is generally 
called the grass crop. Included in the general term grass 
crop are all the various grasses and clovers that are used 
for pasturage and for hay. Next to grass in value come 
the two great cereals, corn and wheat, closely followed by 
the greatest fiber crop, cotton. Oats rank fifth in value, 
potatoes sixth, and tobacco seventh. 

Success in growing any crop is most largely due to the 
suitableness of soil and climate to that crop. When the 
planter selects both the most suitable soil and the most 
suitable climate for each crop, he gets not only the most 
bountiful yield from the crop, but in addition he gets the 
most desirable quality of product. A httle careful obser- 
vation and study soon teach what kinds of soil produce 
crops of the highest excellence. This learned, the planter 

148 



FARM CROPS 



149 



is able to grow in each field the several crops best adapted 
to that special type of soil. Thus we have tobacco soils, 
trucking soils, wheat and corn soils. Dairying succeeds 
best in a section where crops like cowpeas, clover, alfalfa, 
and corn are peculiarly at home. 




Fig. 142. A Cottun Plant 

The figures below give the average amount of money 
made annually per acre on our chief crops. 

Average Values per Acre of the Various Crops 

,;•-. Flowers and plants, $2014; nursery products, 1^170; 
onions, $138; sugar cane, $S7\ small fruits, ;^8i; hops, 
$7Z\ vegetables, 1^54; tobacco, 1^52; sweet potatoes, $17 \ 



I50 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

hemp, $24', potatoes, ^33; sugar beets, $2,0; sorghum 
cane, ;^2i ; cotton, ^15 ; orchard fruits, $14; peanuts, 1^14; 
flaxseed, ^9; cereals, ^8; hay and forage, ;^8 ; castor beans, 
$5 (United States Census Report). 



SECTION XXXII — COTTON 

Although cotton was cultivated on the Eastern conti- 
nent before America was discovered, this crop owes its 
present imperial place in the business world to the zeal 
and intelligence of its American growers. So great an 
influence does it wield in modern industrial life that it is 
often called King Cotton. Thousands upon thousands of 
people scan the newspapers each day to see what price its 
staple is bringing. From its bounty a vast army of toilers, 
who plant its seed, who pick its bolls, who gin its staple, 
who spin and weave its lint, who grind its seed, who refine 
its oil, draw daily bread. Does not its proper production 
deserve the best thought that can be given it .-* 

In the cotton belt almost any well-drained soil will pro- 
duce cotton. The following kinds of soil are admirably 
suited to this plant : red and gray loams with good clay 
subsoil ; sandy soils over sandstone and limestone ; rich, 
dry bottom lands. The safest soils are medium loams. 
Cotton land must always be well drained. 

Cotton was originally a tropical plant ; but, strange to 
say, it seems to thrive best in temperate zones. The cotton 
plant does best, according to Newman, in climates which 
have (a) six months of freedom from frost ; (d) a mod- 
erate, well-distributed rainfall during the plant's growing 




151 



152 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



period ; (c) abundant sunshine and little rain during the 
plant's maturing period. 

In America, the Southern States from Virginia to Texas 
have these climatic qualities, and it is in these states that 
the cotton industry has been developed until it is one of the 
giant industries of the world. This development has been 
very rapid. As late as 1736 the cotton plant was grown as 
an ornamental flowering plant in many front yards ; in 1 899, 
11,199,994 bales of cotton were grown in the South, 

There are a great many varieties of cotton. Only two 
of these, however, are of much interest to the practical 
American farmer. These are (i) the short-stapled, upland 
variety most commonly grown in all the Southern States; 




Fig. 144. In the Growing Season 



and {2) the beautiful, long-stapled, black-seeded sea-island 
variety that grows upon the islands and a portion of the 
mainland of Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. The 
air of the coast seems necessary for the production of 



FARM CROPS 153 

this latter variety. The seeds of this sea-island cotton are 
small, smooth, and black. They are so smooth and stick 
so loosely to the lint that they are separated from the 
lint by roller instead of saw gins. When these seeds are 




Fig. 145. Ready for Picking 

planted away from the soil and air of their ocean home, 
they increase in size and stickiness. 

Many attempts have been made to increase the length 
of the staple of the upland varieties. Some of the meth- 
ods tried were as follows : selection of seed having a long 
fiber ; special cultivation and fertilization ; crossing the 
short-stapled variety on the long-stapled variety. This last 
process, as already explained, is called hybridizing. Some 
of these attempts have, in a measure, succeeded, and every 
farmer ought to plant seed from the longest-stapled variety 
that his land will grow. Moreover, his seed should be 
selected from the stalks that have the largest bolls and the 
greatest number to the stalk. 

The cotton plant is nourished by a tap root that will seek 
food as deeply as loose earth will permit it to penetrate ; hence 



154 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

the first plowing, unless the land is a loose, sandy loam, 
should be done with a two-horse plow, and should be deep 
and thorough. This deep plowing not only allows the tap 
root to penetrate, but it also admits a circulation of air. 

On some cotton farms it is the practice to break the 
land in winter or early spring and then let it lie naked 
until planting time. This is not a good practice. The 
winter rains wash more plant food out of unprotected soil 
than a single crop would use. It would be better, in the 
late summer or fall, to plant crimson clover or some other 
protective and enriching crop on land that is to be planted 
in cotton in the spring. This crop, in addition to keeping 
the land from being injuriously washed, would greatly 
help the coming cotton crop by leaving the soil full of 
vegetable matter. 

Just before planting time, the plowed land should be 
harrowed until the soil is fine and mellow. Do not spare 
the harrow at this time. It destroys many a weed that, if 
allowed to grow, would have to be cut by costly hoeing. 
Thorough work before planting saves much expensive work 
in the later days of the crop. Moreover, no man can 
afford to allow his plant food and moisture to go to nourish 
weeds even for a short time. 

The rows should be from three to four feet apart. The 
width depends upon the richness of the soil. On rich 
land the rows should be at least four feet apart. This 
width rJlows the luxuriant plant to branch and fruit well. 
On poorer lands the distance of the rows should not be so 
great. The distribution of the seed in the row is of course 
most cheaply done by the planter. As a rule, it is best 
not to ridffe the land for the seed. Flat culture saves 




155 



156 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

moisture and often prevents damage to the roots. In 
some sections, however, where the land is flat and full of 
moisture, ridging seems necessary. 

The cheapest way of cultivating a crop is to prevent grass 
and weeds from rooting, not to wait to destroy them after 
they are well rooted. To do this, it is well to run the two- 
horse smoothing-harrow over the land, across the rows, a 
few days after the young plants are up. Repeat the har- 
rowing in six or eight days. In addition to destroying the 
young grass and weeds, this harrowing also removes many 
of the young cotton plants and thereby saves much hoe- 
ing at " chopping out " time. When the plants are about 
two inches high, they are " chopped out " to secure an 
evenly distributed stand. It is customary to leave two 
stalks to a hill. 

The number of times the crop has to be worked depends 
upon the soil and season. If the soil is dry and porous, 
cultivate as often as possible, and especially after each 
rain. Never allow a crust to form after a rain; the roots 
of plants must have air. Cultivation after each rain forms 
a dry mulch on the top of the soil and thus prevents the 
rapid evaporation of moisture. 

If the fiber (the lint) only is removed from the land on 
which cotton is grown, cotton is the least exhaustive of the 
great crops grown in the United States. According to 
some recent experiments, an average crop of cotton removes 
in the lint only 2.75 pounds of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, 
potash, lime, and magnesia per acre, while a crop of ten 
bushels of wheat per acre removes 32.36 pounds, of the 
same elements of plant food. Inasmuch as this crop takes 
so little plant food from the soil, the cotton farmer has 



FARM CROPS 



157 



no excuse for allowing his land to decrease in productive- 
ness. Two things will keep his land in bounteous har- 
vest condition : first, let him return the seeds in some 
form to the land, or, what is better, feed the ground seeds 
to cattle, make a profit from the cattle, and return manure 
to the land in place of the seeds ; second, at the last work- 
ing, let him sow some crop like crimson clover or rye in 




Fig. 147. Weighing 



the cotton rows to protect the soil during the winter and 
to leave humus in the ground for the spring. 

The stable manure, if that is used, should be broad- 
casted over the fields at the rate of six to ten tons an 
acre. If commercial fertilizers are used, it is best to make 
two applications. To give the young plants a good start, 
apply a portion of the fertilizer to be used in the drill just 
before planting. Then when the plants are about twelve 



158 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



or fifteen inches tall, put the remainder of the fertilizer in 
drills near the plants. 

Relation of Stock to the Cotton Crop. On many farms 
much of the money for which the cotton is sold in the fall 
has to go to pay for the commercial fertilizer used in grow- 
ing the crop. Should not this fact suggest efforts to raise 
just as good crops without having to buy so much ferti- 
lizer .'' Is there any way by which this can be done .'' The 
following suggestions may be helpful. Raise enough stock 




Fig. 148. The Square Bale and the Round Bale 

to use all the cotton seed grown on the farm. To go with 
the food made from the seed, grow on the farm pea-vine 
hay, clover, alfalfa, and other nitrogen-gathering crops. This 
can be done with small cost. What will be the result .<* 

First, to say nothing of the money made from the 
cattle, the large quantity of stable manure saved will largely 
reduce the amount of commercial fertilizer needed. The 
cotton farmer cannot afford to neglect cattle raising. The 
cattle sections of the country are making the greatest 
progress in agriculture. 



FARM CROPS 



159 



Second, the nitrogen-gathering crops, while helping to 
feed the stock, also reduce the fertilizer bills by supplying 
one of the costly elements of the fertilizer. The ordinary 
cotton fertilizer consists principally of nitrogen, potash, and 
phosphoric acid. Of these three, by far the most costly 
is nitrogen. Now peas, beans, clover, and peanuts will 
leave enough nitrogen in the soil for cotton. Then, if they 
be raised, it is necessary to buy only 
phosphoric acid and sometimes potash. 
This is a very great saving. 

SECTION XXXIII— TOBACCO 

The tobacco plant connects Indian 
agriculture with our own. It has always 
been a source of great profit to our 
people. In the early colonial days 
tobacco was almost exclusively our 
money crop. Many rich men came 
to America in those days merely to 
raise tobacco. 

Although tobacco will grow in almost 
any climate, the leaves, which, as most 
of you know, are the salable part of the 
plant, get their desirable or undesirable qualities very largely 
from the soil, and from the climate in which they grow. 

Excepting perhaps the grape, there is no other plant 
that is so much influenced by its surroundings as tobacco. 
Since this is true, it follows that tobacco growers must, 
with this crop more than with any other crop, study the 
peculiarities of their land. 




Fig. 149. A Leaf 



i6o 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



The soil most acceptable to tobacco is one having the 
following characteristics : dryness, warmth, richness, depth, 
and sandiness. 

Since tobacco is an exhaustive crop, the greatest atten- 
tion must be given to keeping up the soil on which it is 
grown. Occasional crop rotation, and manures are abso- 
lutely necessary for keeping up the fertility in tobacco soils. 




Fig. 150. A Promising Crop 

Commercial fertilizers also are well-nigh a necessity, for, 
as tobacco land is limited in area, the same land must be 
often planted in tobacco. Hence even a fresh, rich soil that 
did not at first require fertilizing soon becomes exhausted 
and robbed of its plant food by too many crops being 
grown upon it without rotation, and frequent application of 
fertilizers and manures is therefore necessary. 



FARM CROPS 



i6i 



Deep plowing, from nine to thirteen inches, is also a 
prime necessity, for tobacco roots go deep into the soil. 
After this deep plowing, harrow until the soil is thor- 
oughly pulverized, and is as fine and mellow as that of the 
flower garden. 

Unlike most other farm crops, the 
tobacco plant must be started first 
in a seed bed. To prepare a tobacco 
bed, the almost universal custom is 
to proceed as follows. Carefully 




Fig. 151. Topping 



select a protected spot. Over this spot pile brushwood and 
then burn it. The soil underneath the burned brushwood 
will be left dry to a depth of several inches. It is then 
carefully raked and smoothed and planted. A tablespoon- 
ful of seed will sow a patch twenty-five feet square. If 
the seeds come up well, a patch of this .size ought to furnish 
transplants for five or six acres. In sowing, it is not wise 
to cover the seed deeply. A light raking in or an even 
rolling of the ground is all that is needed. 



l62 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



The time required for sprouting is from two to three 
weeks. The plants ought to be ready for transplanting in 
from four to six weeks. Weeds and grass should of course 
be kept out of the seed bed. 

The plants, when ready, are transplanted very much as 
cabbages and tomatoes are transplanted. The rows should 
be from three to four feet apart, and the plants in the rows 
about two or three feet apart. If 
the plants are set so that the plow 
and cultivator can be run with the 
rows and also across the rows, they 
can be more economically worked. 
Tobacco, like corn, requires shallow 
cultivation. Of course the plants 
should be worked often enough to 
give clean culture and to provide a 
soil mulch for saving moisture. 

In tobacco culture it is necessary 
to pinch off the "buttons" or to 
cut off the tops of the main stalk, 
else much nourishment will be given 
to the seeds that should go to the 
leaves. The suckers must also be 
cut off for the same reason. 
The proper time for harvesting is not easily fixed ; one 
becomes skillful in this work only through experience in 
the field. Briefly, we may say that tobacco is ready to be 
cut when the leaves on being held up to the sun show a 
light or golden color, when they are sticky to the touch, 
and are easily broken when bent. Plants that are overripe 
are inferior to those that are cut early. 




Fig. 152. A Hand 



FARM CROPS 



163 



Th3 operations included in cutting, housing, drying, 
shipping, sweating, and packing require skill and practice. 
The important varieties are as follows : 



I. 


White Bui-ley. 


6. 


Sumatra. 


2. 


Prince Bismarck. 


7- 


Connecticut Seed Leaf. 


3- 


General Grant. 


8. 


Hyco. 


4- 


Ya/jw Orinoco. 


9- 


Havana Seed. 


5- 


Havana. 


10. 


Pryoir.^ 




II. 


Perique. 





SECTION XXXIV — WHEAT 

Wheat has been cultivated from earliest times. It was a 
chief crop in Egypt and Palestine, and still holds its impor- 
tance in the temperate portions of Europe, Asia, Africa, 
^1 Australia, and America. 

This crop ranks third 

in value in the United 

N M\Mt///J^ \MMMtk^::^=^-r-~^ States. It grows in cool, 

temperate, and warm 
climates, and in many 
kinds of soil. It does 
best in clay loam, and 
poorest in sandy soils. Clogged and water- 
soaked land will not grow wheat with profit to 
the farmer ; for this reason, where good wheat 
production is desired, the soil must be well 
drained and in good physical condition, — that 
is, the soil must be open, crumbly, and mellow. 

Clay soils that are hard and lifeless can be made valuable 
for wheat production by covering the surface with manure, 




164 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



by good tillage, and by a thorough system of crop rotation. 
Cowpeas make a most valuable crop to precede wheat, for 
in growing they add atmospheric nitrogen to the soil ; their 
roots loosen the root bed, thereby admitting a free circula- 
tion of air, and adding humus to the soil. Moreover, the 

cowpea leaves the soil 
in the compact condition 
so much desired in wheat 
production. 

One may secure a good 
seed bed after cotton 
and corn as well as after 
peas. They are summer- 
cultivated crops, and the 
clean culture that has 
been given them renders 
the surface soil mellow 
and the undersoil firm 
and compact. They are 
not so good, however, as 
cowpeas, since they add 
no atmospheric nitrogen 
to the soil, as all leguminous crops do. 

From one to two inches is the most satisfactory depth for 
planting wheat. The largest number of seeds comes up 
when planted at this depth. A mellow soil is very helpful 
to good coming up and provides a most comfortable home 
for the roots of the plant. A compact soil below makes a 
moist undersoil; and this is desirable, for the soil water is 
needed to dissolve plant food and to carry it up through 
the plant, where it is used in building tissue. 




Fig. 154. Roots of a Single 
Wheat Plant 




'6s 



1 66 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



There are a great many varieties of wheat : some are 
bearded, others are smooth; some are winter and others 
are spring varieties. The smooth-headed varieties are 
most agreeable to handle during harvest and at threshing 
time. Some of the bearded varieties, however, do so well 
in some soils and climates that it is desirable to continue 
growing them, though they are less agreeable to handle. 




Fig. 156. Selecting Seed 

No matter what variety you are accustomed to raise, it 
may be improved by careful seed selection. 

The seed drill is the best implement for planting wheat. 
It distributes the grains evenly over the whole field and 
leaves the mellow soil in a condition to catch what snow 
may fall and secure what protection it affords. 

In many parts of the country, because so little live stock 
is raised, there is often too little manure to apply to the 
wheat land. Where this is the case, commercial fertilizers 



FARM CROPS 167 

must be used. Since soils differ greatly, it is impossible 
to suggest a fertilizer adapted to all soils. The elements 
usually lacking in wheat soils are nitrogen, phosphoric acid, 
and potash. 

The land may be lacking in one or all of these plant 
foods ; if this is so, a maximum crop cannot possibly be 
raised. The section discussing manuring the soil will be 
helpful to the wheat grower. 

It should be remembered always in buying fertilizers for 
wheat that whenever wheat follows cowpeas or clover or 




Fig. 157. A Bountiful Harvest 

other legumes there is no need of using nitrogen in the 
fertilizer ; the tubercles on the pea roots will furnish that. 
Hence only potash and phosphoric acid will have to be 
purchased as plant food. 

The farmer is assisted always by a study of his crop and 
by a knowledge of how it grows. If he find the straw 
inferior and short, it means that the soil is deficient in 
nitrogen ; but, on the other hand, if the straw be luxuriant 
and the heads small and poorly filled, he may be sure that 
his soil contains too little phosphoric acid and potash. 



i68 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



EXERCISE 

Let the pupils secure several heads of wheat and thresh each 
separately by hand. The grains should then be counted and their 
plumpness and size observed. The practical importance of this is 
obvious, for the larger the heads and the 
greater the number of grains, the larger 
the yield per acre. Let them plant some 
of the large and some of the small grains. 
A single test of this kind will show the 
importance of careful seed selection. 




When the white man came to this 
country, he found the Indian using 
corn; for this reason it, in addition to 
its name maize, is called Indian corn. 
Before that time the civilized world 
did not know that there was such a crop. The 
increase in the yield and the extension of the 
acres planted in this strictly American crop have 
kept pace with the rapid and wonderful growth 
of our country. Corn is king of the cereals, and the most 



FARM CROPS 169 

important crop of American agriculture. It is the backbone 
of farming in this country. Live stock of every kind are fed 
upon rations into which it largely enters, and it feeds more 
human beings than any other grain except perhaps rice. 
It grows in almost every section of America. 

A soil rich in both decaying animal and vegetable matter, 
loose, warm, and moist but not wet, will produce a better 
crop of corn than any other. Corn soil should always be 
well tilled and cultivated. 

The proper time to begin the cultivation of corn is 
before it is planted. Plow well. A shallow, worn-out soil 
should not be used for corn, but for cowpeas or clover. 
After thorough plowing, the harrow — either the disk or 
spring tooth — should be used to destroy all clods and 
leave the surface mellow and fine. The best results will 
be obtained by " turning under " a clover sod that has been 
manured from the savings of the barnyard. 

When manure is not available, commercial fertilizers 
will often prove profitable on poor lands. No one but the 
farmer himself is able to say how much fertilizer an acre 
is necessary or what kinds are to be used. A little study 
and experimenting on his part will soon enable him to find 
out both the kind and the amount of fertilizer that is best 
suited to his land. 

The seed for this crop should be selected according to 
the plan suggested in another section of this book. 

The most economical method of planting is by means 
of the horse planter, which, according to its adjustment, 
plants regularly in hills or in drills. 

A few days after planting, the cornfield should be har- 
rowed with a fine-tooth harrow to loosen the top soil and 



I70 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

to kill the grass and the weed seeds that are germinating 
at the surface. When the corn plants are from a half 
inch to an inch high, the harrow should again be used. 
A little work at this stage will save many days of labor 
during the rest of the season. 

Corn is a crop that needs constant cultivation, and dur- 
ing the growing season the soil should be stirred at least 
four times. This cultivation is for three reasons: 

1. To destroy weeds that would take plant food and 
water. 

2. To provide a mulch of dry soil so as to prevent the 
evaporation of moisture. The action of this mulch has 
already been explained. 

3. Because "tillage is manure." Constant stirring of 
the soil allows the air to circulate, provides a more effec- 
tive mulch, and changes unavailable plant food into the 
form that plants use. 

Deep culture of corn is not advisable. The roots in their 
early stages of growth are shallow feeders and spread all 
over the ground only a few inches below the surface. 
The cultivation that destroys or disturbs the roots injures 
the plants and lessens the yield. We cultivate because 
of the three reasons given above, and not to stir the 
soil about the roots or to loosen it there. 

In many parts of the country, the cornstalks are left 
standing in the fields or are burned. This is a great mis- 
take, for the stalks are worth a great deal for feeding 
horses, cattle, and sheep. These stalks ought always to 
be saved by the use of the busker and shredder. Corn 
after being matured and cut ought to be put in shocks and 
left thus until dry enough to run through the busker and 




171 



172 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



shredder. This machine separates the corn from the stalk 
and husks it. At the same time it shreds tops, leaves, and 
butts into a food that is both nutritious and palatable to 




Fig. i6o. The Difference is due to Tillage 
From Review of Reviews 

Stock. Almost as much feeding value is obtained from 
corn stover treated in this way as from timothy hay. The 
practice of not using the stalks is wasteful and is fast being 



FARM CROPS 



173 



abandoned. The only reason that so much good food is 
being left to decay in the field is because so many people 
are ignorant of the feeding value of 
this stover. 

EXPERIMENT 

To show the effect of cultivation on the 
yield of corn, let the pupils lay off five plats 
in some convenient field. Each plat need 
consist of only two rows about twenty feet 
long. Treat each plat as follows: 

Plat I. No cultivation : let weeds grow. 

Plat 2. Mulch with straw. 

Plat 3. Shallow cultivation : not deeper 
than two inches and at least five times 
during the growing season. 

Plat 4. Deep cultivation : at least four 
inches deep, so as to injure and tear out 
some of the roots (this is a common 
method). 

Plat 5. Root pruning : ten inches from 
the stalk and six inches deep, prune the 
roots with a long knife. Cultivate five times during the season. 

Observe plats during summer, and at husking time note results. 




Fig. 161 



SECTION XXXVI — PEANUTS 

This plant is rich in names; the terms ground pea, 
goober, eartJumt, and pindar, as well as the more general 
name of peamtt, being applied to it locally. The peanut 
is a true legume, and, like other legumes, bears nitrogen- 
gathering tubercles upon its roots. The fruit, not a real 
nut but rather a kind of pea or bean, develops from the 



174 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



blossom. After the fall of the blossom, the " spike," or 
flower stalk, pushes its way into the ground, where the nut 
develops. If unable to penetrate the soil, the nut dies. 

In the United States, North and South Carolina, Vir- 
ginia, and Tennessee have the most favorable climates for 
peanut culture. Suitable climate and soil, however, obtain 




Fig. 162. A Good Shock 



from New Jersey to the Mississippi valley. A high, porous, 
sandy loam is the most suitable. Stiffer soils, while yielding 
better, injure the color of the nut. Lime is a requisite, and 
must be supplied if the soil is deficient. Phosphoric acid 
and potash are needed. 

Greater care than is usually bestowed should be given 
to the selection of the peanut seed. In addition to following 



FARM CROPS 175 

out the principles given in Section XVIII, all musty, 
defective seeds must be discarded and all frosted kernels 
must be rejected. Before it dries, the peanut seed is 
easily injured by frost. The slightest frost on the vines, 
either before or after the vine is dug, does much harm to 
the tender seed. 

In growing peanuts, thorough preparation of the soil is 
much better than later cultivation. Destroy the crop of 
young weeds, but do not disturb the peanut crop by late 
cultivation. 

Harvest before frost, and shock high to keep the vines 
from the ground. 

The average yield of peanuts in the United States is 
seventeen bushels an acre. In Virginia the yield is twenty 
bushels an acre and in Tennessee it reaches thirty-two 
bushels an acre. 

SECTION XXXVII — SWEET POTATOES 

The roots of sweet potatoes are put upon the market in 
various forms. Aside from the form in which they are 
ordinarily sold, some potatoes are dried and then ground 
into flour, some are canned, some are used to make starch, 
some furnish a kind of sugar called glucose, and some are 
even used to make alcohol. 

The fact that there are over eighty varieties of potatoes 
shows the popularity of the plant. Now it is evident that 
all of these varieties cannot be equally desirable. Hence 
the wise grower will select his varieties with prudent 
forethought. Efforts should be made, as described in 
Section XVIII, to improve every variety selected. 



176 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Four months of mild weather, months free from frost 
and cold winds, are necessary for the growing of sweet 
potatoes. In a mild climate, almost any loose, well-drained 
soil will produce them. A light, sandy loam, however, gives 
a cleaner potato, and one therefore that sells better. 

The sweet potato draws potash, nitrogen, and phosphoric 
acid from the soil, but in applying these as fertilizers the 
planter must study and know his own soil. If he does not, 
he may waste both money and plant food by the addition of 
elements already present in sufficient quantity in the soil. 
The only way to come to reliable conclusions as to the 
needs of the soil is to try two or three different kinds of 
fertilizers on plats of the same soil, during the same 
season, and notice the resulting crop of potatoes. 

The sweet potato does not require deep plowing. Deep 
plowing is even a disadvantage. Nor does it matter much 
what crop precedes sweet potatoes. However, potatoes 
should not follow a sod. This is because sods are often 
thick with cutworms, one of the serious enemies of the 
potato. 

It is needless to say that the crops must be kept clean 
by thorough cultivation until the vines take full possession 
of the field. 

In harvesting, extreme care should be used to avoid cut- 
ting and bruising the potato, since bruises are as danger- 
ous to a sweet potato as to an apple, and render decay 
almost a certainty. Lay aside all bruised potatoes for 
immediate use. 

For shipment the potatoes should be graded and packed 
with care. An extra outlay of fifty cents a barrel often 
brings a return of one dollar a barrel in the market. One 



FARM CROPS 177 

fact often neglected by Southern growers who raise for a 
Northern market is that the Northern markets demand a 
potato that will cook dry and mealy, and that they will not 
accept the juicy, sugary potato so popular in the South. 

The storage of sweet potatoes presents difhculties, owing 
to their great tendency to decay under the influence of the 
ever-present fungi and bacteria. This tendency can be 
met by preventing bruises and by keeping the bin free 
from rotting potatoes. The potatoes should be partly dried 
and cleaned and then stored in a dry, warm place. 

The sweet potato vine makes a fair quality of hay, and 
with proper precaution may be used for ensilage. Small, 
defective, unsalable potatoes are rich in sugar and starch, 
and are therefore good stock food. Since they contain 
such a large per cent of water, they cannot be regarded as 
a concentrated food, and must be used only as an aid to 
other diet. 

SECTION XXXVIII — RICE 

The United States produce only about one half of the 
rice that this country consumes. There is no satisfactory 
reason for our not raising more of this staple crop, for five 
great states along the Gulf of Mexico are well adapted to 
its culture. 

There are two distinct kinds of rice, upland rice and 
lowland rice. Upland rice demands in general the same 
methods of culture that are required by other cereals, as, 
for example, oats or wheat. The growing of lowland rice 
is more complicated, involving the necessity of flooding the 
fields at proper times with water. This is a much too 
difficult subject to enter upon here. 



178 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

A stiff, half-clay soil with some loam is best suited to 
this crop. The soil should have a clay subsoil to retain 
water and to give stiffness enough to allow the use of har- 
vesting machinery. Some good rice soils are so stiff that 
they must be flooded to soften them enough to admit of 
plowing. Plow deeply to give the roots ample feeding 
space. Good tillage, which is too often neglected, is 
valuable. 

Careful seed selection is perhaps even more needed 
for rice than for any other crop. Uniformity of kernel is 
demanded. Be sure that your seed is free from red rice 
and other weeds. Drilling is much better than broad- 
casting, as it secures more even distribution. 

The notion generally prevails that flooding returns to 
the soil the needed fertility. This may be true if the 
flooding water deposits much silt, but if the water be clear 
it is untrue, and fertilizers or leguminous crops are needed 
to keep up fertility. Cowpeas replace the lost soil elements 
and keep down weeds, grasses, and red rice. 

Red rice is a weed close kin to rice, but the seed of 
one will not produce the other. Do not allow it to get 
mixed and sowed with your rice seed, or to go to seed in 
your field. 

Write to the Department of Agriculture for the fol- 
lowing bulletins : 

Division of Botany, Bulletin 22. 

Division of Statistics, Miscellaneous Series, Report 6. 
Ofifice of Experiment Stations, Bulletin 113. 
Farmers' Bulletin no. 



FARM CROPS 179 



SECTION XXXIX— THE FARM GARDEN 

Every farmer should have a garden in which he should 
grow not only the vegetables needed for the home table, 
but also all the small fruits. 

The garden should always be within convenient distance 
of the farmhouse. If possible, the spot selected should 
have a soil of mixed loam and clay. Every foot of soil in 
the garden should be made rich and mellow by manure 
and cultivation. The worst soils for the home garden are 
light, sandy soils, or stiff, clayey soils ; but any soil, by 
judicious and intelligent culture, can be made suitable. 

In laying out the garden we should bear in mind that 
hand labor is the most expensive kind of labor. Hence 
we should not, as is commonly done, lay off the garden 
spot in the form of a square, but we should mark off for 
our purpose a long, narrow piece of land, so that the cul- 
tivating tools may all be conveniently drawn by a horse or 
mule. The use of the plow and horse cultivator enables 
the work of taking care of the garden to be done quickly, 
easily, and cheaply. 

Every vegetable or fruit should be planted in rows, and 
not in little patches. Beginning with one side of the 
garden the following plan of arrangement would be simple 
and complete : two rows to corn for table use ; two to 
cabbages, beets, radishes, and eggplants ; two to onions, 
peas, and beans ; two to oyster plants, okra, parsley, and 
turnips ; two to tomatoes ; then four on the other side can 
be used for strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, currants, 
and gooseberries. 



i8o 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



The garden, when so arranged, can be tilled in the 
spring and tended throughout the growing season with 
little labor and little loss of time. In return for this odd- 
hour work, the farmer's family will have throughout the 
year an abundance of fresh, palatable, and health-giving 
vegetables and small fruits. 

The keynote of successful gardening is to stir the soil. 
Stir it often with four objects in view : 

1. To destroy weeds. 

2. To ventilate the soil. 

3. To enrich the soil by the action of the air, 

4. To retain the moisture by preventing its evaporation. 



corn 


corn 


cabbage 


beets 


radishes 


cabbage 


beets 


egg plants 


onions 


peas 


beans 


onions 


peas 


beans 


oyster plants 


okra 


parsley 


parsnips 


oyster plants 


okra 


parsley 


parsnips 




tomatoes 






tomatoes 




strawberries 


currants 


raspberries 


blackberries 


strawberries 


currants 


raspberries 


blackberries 


strawberries 


currants 


raspberries 


blackberries 


strawberries 


currants 


raspberries 


blackberries 



Fig. 163. How to Lay out the Garden 

This illustration shows that practically every garden 
vegetable and all the small fruits can be included in the 
farm garden, and all the work be done by horse-drawn 
tools. 




i8i 



CHAPTER VIII 
DOMESTIC ANIMALS 

The progress that a nation is making can with reason- 
able accuracy be measured by the kind of hve stock it 
raises. The general rule is, poor stock, poor people. All 
the prosperous nations of the globe, especially the grain- 
growing nations, get a large share of their wealth by rais- 
ing improved stock. The stock bred by these nations is 
now, however, very different from the stock raised by the 
same nations years ago. As soon as man began to pro- 
gress in the art of agriculture he became dissatisfied with 
inferior stock. He therefore bent his energies to raise the 
standard of excellence in domestic animals. 

By slow stages of animal improvement the angular, thin- 
flanked wild boar of early times has been transformed into 
the sleek Berkshire or the well-rounded Poland-China. In 
the same manner the wild sheep of the Old World have 
been developed into wool and mutton breeds of the finest 
excellence. By constant care, attention, and selection, the 
thin, leggy wild ox has been bred into bounteous milk-pro- 
ducing Jerseys and Holsteins or into Shorthorn mountains 
of flesh. From the small, bony, coarse and shaggy horse 
of ancient times has descended the ponderous Norman 
draft horse and the fleet Arab courser. 

The matter of meat production is one of vital importance 
to man, for animal food must always supply a large part 
of man's ration. 

1 82 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 183 

Live stock of various kinds consume the coarser foods, 
like the grasses, hays, and grains, which man cannot use. 
As a result of this consumption they store in their bodies 
the exact substances required for the building up of the 
tissues of man's body. 

When the animal is used by man for food, one class of 
foods stored away in the animal body produces muscle ; 
another produces fat, heat, and energy. The food fur- 
nished by the slaughter of animals seems necessary to the 
full development of man. It is true that the flesh of an 
animal will not support human life as long as would the 
grain that the animal ate while growing, but it is also true 
that animal food does not require so much of man's force 
to digest it. Hence by the use of meat a part of man's 
life struggle is forced upon the lower animal. 

When men feed grain to stock, they receive in return power 
and food in their most available forms. Men strengthen 
the animal that they themselves may be strengthened. 
One of the great questions, then, for the stock grower's 
consideration is how to make the least amount of food fed 
to animals produce the most power and flesh. 

SECTION XL — HORSES 

While we have a great many kinds of horses in America, 
horses are not natives of this country. Just where wild 
horses were first tamed and used is not definitely known. 
It is believed that they were first used for warfare and then 
gradually bred and adapted to other purposes. 

Where food was abundant and nutritious and climate 
mild and healthful, the early horses developed large frames 



1 84 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



and heavy limbs and muscles ; on the other hand, where 
food was scarce and climate cold and bleak, the animals 
became as dwarfed as the ponies of the Shetland Islands, 
One of the first recorded uses of the horse is found in 
Genesis, chapter xlix, verse 17, where Jacob speaks of 
"an adder that biteth the horse heels." Pharaoh took 




Fig. 165. The Family Pet 

"six hundred chosen chariots" and "with all the horses 
and chariots" pursued the Israelites. The Greeks at first 
drove the horse fastened to a rude chariot, and later found 
that they could manage the animal while on its back, with 
voice or switch and without either saddle or bridle. This 
ingenious people soon invented the snaffle bit, and both 
rode and drove with its aid. The curb bit was a Roman 
invention. Shoeing was not practiced by either Greek or 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



185 



Roman. Saddles and harnesses were at first made of skins 
and sometimes of cloth. 

Among the Tartars of middle and northern Asia, and 
also among some other nations, mare's milk and the flesh of 
the horse are used for food. Old and otherwise worthless 
horses are regularly fattened for the meat markets of France 




Fig. 166. Percheron Horse (the Draft Type) 

and Germany. Various uses are made of the different parts 
of a horse's body. The mane and tail are used in the manu- 
facture of mattresses, and the same parts furnish a hair- 
cloth for upholstering ; the skin is tanned into leather ; the 
hoofs are used for glue, and the bones for making fertilizer. 
Climate, food, and natural surroundings have all aided in 
producing changes in the horse's form, size, and appearance. 



1 86 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



The varying circumstances under which horses have been 
raised have originated the different breeds. In addition, 
the master's selection had much to do in developing the 
type of horses wanted : some desired work horses, and they 





Fig. 167 

Diagram shows the proper shape of the fore and hind legs of a horse. When the 
straight lines divide the legs equally, the leg action is straight and regular 

kept the heavy, muscular, stout-limbed animals ; others 
desired riding and driving horses, so they saved for their 
use the light-limbed, angular horses that had endurance 
and stamina. The following table gives some of the dif- 
ferent breeds and the places of their development : 

I . Draft, or Heavy, Breeds 

1. Percheron, from the province of Perche in France. 

2. French Draft, developed in France. 

3. Belgian Draft, developed by Belgian farmers. 

4. Clydesdale, the draft horse of Scotland. 

5. Suffolk Punch, from the eastern part of England. 

6. English Shire, also from the eastern part of England. 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



I«7 



II. Carriage, or Coach, Breeds 

1. Cleveland Bay, developed in England. 

2. French Coach, the gentleman's horse of France. 

3. German Coach, from Germany. 

4. Oldenburg Coach, Oldenburg, Germany. 

5. Hackney, the English high-stepper. 

III. Light, or Roadster, Breeds 

1. American Trotter, developed in America. 

2. The Thoroughbred, the English running horse. 

3. The American Saddle Horse, from Kentucky and Virginia. 

There is a marked difference in the form and type of 
these horses, and on this difference their usefulness depends. 

The draft breeds have short legs, and hence their 
bodies are comparatively close to the ground. The depth 





Fig. 168. Wide Hock 

This horse stands great strains and 
is not fatigued easily • 



Fig. 169. Narrow Hock 

This horse becomes exhausted 
very easily 



of the body should be about the same as the length of leg. 
All draft horses should have upright shoulders, so as to 
provide an easy support for the collar. The hock should 
be wide, so that the animal shall have great leverage of 



i88 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



muscle for pulling. A horse having a narrow hock is not 
able to draw a heavy load, is easily exhausted, and liable to 
curb diseases (see Figs. i68 and 169). 

The legs of all kinds of horses should be straight : a 
line dropped from the point of the shoulder to the ground 
should divide the knees, canon, fetlock, and foot in two 
equal parts. When the animal is formed in this way, the 



LJMt 


' SHK^^^^^lP^ WSH Tafei '^iiM 

•Till— i>ii •" ^BL^fSiHfflHni^Hi 


■ ' '■•'T^i':^*i.> 1 





Fig. 170. The Roadster Type 

feet have room to be straight and square, with just the 
breadth of a hoof between them (Fig. 167). 

The roadsters are lighter in bone and less heavily muscled ; 
their legs are longer than those of the draft horses, and, 
as horsemen say, more " daylight " can be seen under the 
body. The neck is long and thin, but fits nicely into the 
shoulders. The shoulders are sloping and long, and give 
the roadster ability to reach well out in his stride. The 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



189 



head is set gracefully on the neck, and should be carried 
with ease and erectness. 

Every man who is to deal with horses ought to become, 
by observation and study, an expert judge of forms, quali- 
ties, types, defects, and excellences. 

The horse's foot makes an interesting study. The horny 
outside protects the foot from mud, ice, and stones. Inside 




Fig. 171. Side View of Legs 

The diagram shows how the straight hnes ought to cross the legs of a 
properly shaped horse 



the hoof are the bones and gristle that serve as cushions 
to diminish the shock received while walking or running 
on hard roads or streets. When shoeing the horse, the frog 
should not be touched with the knife. It is very seldom 



190 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



that any cutting need be done. Many blacksmiths do not 
know this, and often greatly injure the foot. 

Since the horse has but a small stomach, the food given 
the animal should not be too bulky. In proportion to its 
size, its grain ration should be larger than that of other 
animals. Draft horses and mules, however, can be fed 




2 17 

Fig. 172. How to Measure a Horse 

a more bulky ration than other horses, because they have 
larger stomachs and hence greater storage capacity. 

The horse should be groomed every day. This keeps 
the pores of the skin open and the hair bright and glossy. 
When horses are working hard, the harness should be 
removed during the noon hour. During the cool seasons 
of the year, whenever a horse is wet with perspiration, it 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 19I 

should on stopping work, or when standing for a while, 
be blanketed ; for the animal is as liable as man to get 
cold in a draught, or from too rapid evaporation. 

EXERCISE 

If the pupil will take an ordinary tape measure, he can make some meas- 
urements of the horse that will be very interesting as well as profitable. 
Let him measure : 

1. The height of the horse at the withers, i to I. 

2. The height of the horse at croup, 2 to 2. 

3. Length of shoulder, i to 3. 

4. Length of back, 4. 

5. Length of head, 5. 

6. Depth of body, 6 to 6. 

7. Daylight under body, 7 to 7. 

8. Distance from point of shoulder to quarter, 3 to 3. 

9. Width of forehead. 
10. Width between hips. 

Note. Many interesting comparisons can be made (i) by measuring 
several horses, (2) by studying the proportion between parts of the same 
horse. ■ * 

Proportions of a Horse 

1. How many times longer is the body than the head? Do you 
get the same result from different horses? 

2. How does the height at the withers compare with the height 
at croup ? 

3. How do these compare with distance from quarter to shoulder? 

4. How does the length of head compare with thickness of body, 
and the open space, or " daylight," under the body ? 



192 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

SECTION XLI — CATTLE 

All farm animals were once called cattle ; now this term 
applies only to beef and dairy animals, — neat cattle. 

Our improved breeds are descended from the wild ox of 
Europe and Asia, and have attained their size and useful- 
ness by care, food, 
and selection. The 
uses of cattle are 
so familiar that we 
need scarcely men- 
tion them. Their 
flesh is a part of the 
daily food of man, 
— butter, cheese, 
and milk are on 
every table ; their 
hides go to make 
leather, and their 
hair for plaster ; 

TT * T, ^,r their hoofs for glue; 

Fig. 173. A Prize Winner ° 

their bones for fer- 
tilizers, ornaments, and buttons, and many other purposes. 
There are two main classes of cattle, — beef breeds and 
dairy breeds. The principal breeds of each class are as 
follows : 

I. Beef Breeds 

1. Aberdeen-Angus, bred in Scotland, and often called daddies. 

2. Galloways, from Scotland. 

3. Shorthorn, an English breed of cattle. 

4. Hereford, also an English breed. 

5. Sussex, from the county of Sussex, England. 




DOMESTIC ANIMALS 193 

II. Dairy Breeds 

1. Jersey, from the Isle of Jersey. 

2. Guernsey, from the Isle of Guernsey. 

3. Ayrshire, from Scotland. 

4. Holstein-Frisian, from Holland and Denmark. 

5. Brown Swiss, from Switzerland. 

Other breeds of cattle are Devon, Dutch-Belted, Red- 
Polled, Kerry, American Holderness, and West Highland. 

In general structure there is a marked difference between 
the beef and dairy breeds. This is shown in Figs. 174, I75„ 







Fig. 174. Aberdeen-Angus Cow (a Beef Type) 

The beef cow is square, full over the back and loins, and 
straight in the back. The hips are evenly fleshed, the 
legs full and thick, the under line, or stomach hne, parallel 



194 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



to the back line, and the neck full and short. The eye 
should be bright, the face short, the bones of fine texture, 
and the skin soft and pliable. 

The dairy cow is altogether different from the beef cow. 
She shows a decided wedge shape when you look at her 
from front, side, and rear. The back line is crooked, the 
hip bones and tail bone are prominent, the thighs thin and 




f*^^'^ 



Fig. 175. Jersey Cow (a Dairy Type) 

poorly fleshed ; there is no breadth to the back, as in the 
beef cow, and little flesh covers the shoulder; the neck 
is long and thin. 

The udder of the dairy cow is most important. It should be 
full but not fleshy, well attached behind and extending well 
forward. The larger the udder, the more milk given. 

The skin of the dairy cow should be soft and pliable, 
and the bones fine textured. 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



195 



The Dairy Type. Because of lack of flesh on the back, 
loins, and thighs, the dairy type produces neither good nor 
profitable meat. This is because in the dairy animal food 
goes to produce milk rather than beef. In the same way 
the beef cow gives little milk, since her food goes rather 
to fat than to milk. For the same reasons that you do 
not expect a plow horse to win on the race track, you 
do not expect a cow 
of the beef type to 
win premiums as a 
milker. 

" Scrub cattle " 
are not very profit- 
able. They mature 
slowly and conse- 
quently consume 
much food before 
they are able to 
give any return for 
it. Even when fat- 
tened, the fat and 
lean portions are 
not evenly distributed, and "choice cuts" are few and small. 

By far the cheapest method of securing a healthy and 
profitable herd of dairy or beef cattle is to save only the 
calves whose sires are pure-bred animals and whose 
mothers are native cows. In this way farmers of even 
little means can soon build up an excellent herd. 

Improving Cattle. The fact that it is not possible for 
every farmer to possess pure-bred cattle is no reason why 
he should not improve the stock he has. He can do this 




Fig. 176. Head of a Galloway Cow 



196 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



by using pure-bred sires that possess the characteristics 
desired. Scrub stock can be quickly improved by the con- 
tinuous use of good sires. It is never wise to use grade or 
cross-bred sires, since they do not possess stable characters. 
Moreover, it is possible for every farmer to determine 
exactly the producing power of his dairy cows. When 
the cows are milked, the milk should be weighed and a 
record kept. If this be done, it will be found that some 

cows produce as 
much as four 
hundred or five 
hundred gallons a 
year, while others 
produce not more 
than half that 
quantity. If a 
farmer kill or sell 
liis poor cows and 
keep his best ones, 
he will in a short 
while have a herd 
of only heavy milkers. Ask your father to try this plan. 
Read everything you can find about taking care of cows 
and improving them, and then start a herd of your own. 

Conclusions, (i) A cow with a tendency to get fat is 
not profitable for the dairy. (2) A thin, open, angular cow 
will make expensive beef. (3) "The sire is half the herd." 
This means that a good sire is necessary to improve a herd 
of cattle. The improvement from scrubs upward is as 
follows : the first generation is one half pure ; the second 
is three fourths pure ; the third is seven eighths pure ; the 




Fig. 177. Shorthorn Cow 



DOMESTIC ANIiMALS I97 

fourth is fifteen sixteenths pure, etc. (4) By keeping a 
record of the quantity and quality of milk each cow gives 
you can tell which are profitable to raise from and which 
are not. (5) Good food, clean water, kindness, and care 
are necessary to successful cattle growing. 

SECTION XLII — SHEEP 

The sheep was perhaps the first animal domesticated by 
man, and to-day the domesticated sheep is found wherever 
man lives. It is found domesticated or wild in every lati- 
tude, and finds sustenance and thrives where other animals 




Fig. 178. A Young Shepherd 

can scarcely live ; it provides man with meat and clothing, and 

is one of the most profitable and easily cared for of animals. 

Sheep increase so rapidly, mature at such an early age^ 

and their flesh is so wholesome for food that most farms 




i:m 




198 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



199 



should have their flock. Another consideration that may 
be urged in favor of sheep raising is that sheep improve 
the land on which they are pastured. 

Sheep are docile, easily handled, live on a greater diversity 
of food, and require less grain than any other kind of live 



■ 


wm 


f'^y?^''' 


. '" Y 


/ 






7% 


-^k 










"^■■-■■?^«?^" 


■^ 



Fig. 180. In the Pasture 



Stock. In mixed farming there is enough food wasted on 
almost every farm to maintain a small flock of sheep. 
Sheep may be divided into three classes : 



I . Fine- Wooled Breeds 

1. American Merino. 

2. Delaine Merino. 

3. Rambouillcts. 

1 1 . Medium- Wooled Breeds 

1. Southdown. 

2. Shropshire. 
3- 



4. Hampshire Down. 

5. Oxford Down. 

6. Cheviot. 

III. Long- Wooled Breeds 

1. Leicester. 

2. Lincoln. 

3. Cotswold. 



Horned Dorset. 



200 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



The first group is grown principally for wool, and mutton 
is secondary ; in the second, mutton comes first and wool 
second ; while in the third both are important considera- 
tions. Wool is nature's protection for the sheep. Have 
you ever opened the fleece and observed the clean skin 
in which the fibers grow ? These fibers, or hairs, are so 
roughened that they push all dirt away from the skin 
towards the outside of the fleece. 

Wool is valuable in proportion to the length and even- 
ness of the fiber and the density of the fleece. 

QUESTIONS 

1. How many pounds ought a fleece of wool to weigh ? 

2. Which makes the better clothing, coarse or fine wool ? 

3. Why are sheep washed before being sheared? 

4. Does cold weather trouble sheep ? wet weather ? 



SECTION XLIII — SWINE 

The wild boar is a native of Europe, Asia, and Africa. 
These wild hogs are the parents from which all our domestic 







Fig. iSi. Which will you raise? 



'i' A'/*., 



breeds have sprung. In many parts of the world the wild 
boar is still found. These animals are active and power- 
ful, and as they grow older are fierce and dangerous. In 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



20I 



their wild state they seek moist, sandy, and well-wooded 
places, close to streams of water. Their favorite foods are 
fruits, grass, and roots ; but when pressed by hunger they 
will eat snakes, worms, and even higher animals, like birds, 
fowls, and fish. 

Man captured some of these wild animals, fed them abun- 
dant and nutritious food, accustomed them to domestic life, 
selected the best of them to raise from, and in the course 




Fig. 182. A Pair of Porkers 



of generations developed our present breeds of hogs. The 
main changes brought about in hogs were these : the legs 
became shorter, the snout and neck likewise shortened, the 
shoulders and hams increased their power to take on flesh, 
and the frame was strengthened to carry the added burden 
of flesh. In addition, the disposition became more quiet 
and less roving. 

The hog excels all other animals in the cheap pro- 
duction of meat. When it is properly fed and cared for, 



202 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

it will make the farmer more money in proportion to cost 
than any other animal on the farm. 

The most profitable type of hog has short legs, small 
bones, straight back and under line, heavy hams, small well- 
dished head, and heavy shoulders. The scrub and " razor- 
back " hogs are very unprofitable, and consume an undue 
amount of food to produce a pound of gain. It requires two 
years to get the scrub to weigh what a well-bred pig will 




Fig. 183. A Good Type 

weigh when nine months old. Scrub hogs can be quickly 
changed in form and type by the use of a pure-bred sire. 

A boy whose parents were too poor to send him to 
college once decided to make his own money and get an 
education. He bought a sow, and began to raise pigs. 
He earned the food for both mother and pigs. His hogs 
increased so rapidly that he had to work hard to keep 
them in food. By saving the money he received from the 
sale of his hogs he had enough to keep him two years in 
college. Suppose you try his plan, and let the hog show 
you how fast it can make money. 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



203 



We have several breeds of swine. The important ones are : 



II. 



Large Breeds 

1. Chester White. 

2. Improved Yorkshire. 

3. Tamworth. 

Medium Breeds 

1. Berkshire. 

2. Poland-China. 



3. Duroc- Jersey. 

4. Cheshire. 

III. Small Breeds 

1. Victoria. 

2. Suffolk. 

3. Essex. 
4 



Small Yorkshire. 



Hogs will be most successfully raised when kept as little 
as possible in pens. They like the fields and the pasture 
grass, the open air and the sunshine. Almost any kind of 
food can be given them. Unlike other stock, they will 
devour greedily and tirelessly the richest feeding stuffs. 

The most desirable hog to raise is one that will produce 
a more or less even mixture of fat and lean. Where only 
corn is fed, the body becomes very fat and is not so desir- 
able for food as when middlings, tankage, cowpeas, or soja 
beans are added as a part of the ration. 

When hogs are kept in pens, cleanliness is most 
important to reduce the danger of disease. 




Fig. 184 



204 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



SECTION XLIV— FARM POULTRY 

Our geese, ducks, turkeys, and domestic hens are all 
descendants of wild fowls, and are more or less similar to 
them in appearance. 

The earliest recorded uses of fowls were for food, for 
fighting, and for sacrifice. Briefly, the domestic fowl has 

four well-defined uses, — egg 
'^ production, meat production, 

V feather production, and pest 

^•"iuL destruction, 

^^ You already know that 

nearly every farmer raises 
a few fowls for the produc- 
tion of his own eggs and 
meat, and to help with the 
grocery bill ; but you may 
be surprised to learn that the 
farmers of the United States 
got in 1899 $144,286,158 
from the sale of eggs alone. 
A little proper attention 
would very largely increase 
the already handsome sum derived from our fowls. They 
need dry, warm, well-lighted, and tidily-kept houses. They 
must have, if we want the best returns, an abundant supply 
of pure water and a variety of nutritious foods. In cold, 
rainy, or snowy weather they should have a sheltered yard, 
and in good weather should be allowed a range wide enough 
to give them exercise. Their bodies and their nests must 
be protected from vermin. 




Fig. 1S5. Cock 




Fig. i86. Breeding Yards 



>^^^^^;^ 




Fig. 187. Incubator 



205 



2o6 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Geese, ducks, and turkeys are not so generally raised as 
hens, but there is a constant demand at good prices for 
these fowls. 

The varieties of the domestic hen are as follows : 

I. Egg Breeds 
I. Leghorn. 2. Minorca. 3. Spanish. 4. Blue Andalusian. 
5. Ancoras. 

II. Meat Breeds 
I. Brahma. 2. Cochin. 3. Langshan. 4. Dorking. 

5. Cornish. 

III. General Purpose Breeds 

I. Plymouth Rock. 2. Wyandotte. 3. Rhode Island Red. 

4. Orpington. 

IV. Faticy Breeds 
I. Polish. 2. Game. 3. Sultan. 4. Bantam. 




Fig. 188. Brooder 



As the price of both eggs and fowls is steadily advanc- 
ing, a great many people are now raising fowls by means 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



207 



of an incubator for hatching, and a brooder as a substitute 
for the mother hen. 

The use of the incubator is extending each year and is 
now almost universal where any considerable number of 
chicks is to be hatched. The incubator will doubtlessly 
be used wherever poultry production is engaged in upon a 
large scale. 

The brooder is employed to take care of the chickens as 
soon as they leave the incubator. 



SECTION XLV — BEE CULTURE 

Stock raisers select breeds that are best adapted to their 
needs. Plant growers exercise great care in their choice 
of plants, selecting for each planting those best suited to 
the condition in which they are to 
be grown. 

Undoubtedly a larger yield of 
honey could be had each year if 
similar care were exercised in the 
selection of the breed of bees. To 
prove this, one has only to com- 
pare the yield of two different 
kinds. The common East Indian 
honeybee rarely produces more than 
ten to twelve pounds a hive, while 
the C3q3rian bee, which is a most 
industrious worker, has a record of one thousand pounds in 
one season from a single colony. This bee, besides being 
industrious when honey material is plentiful, is also very 
persevering when such material is hard to find. These 




Fig. 189. A Carniolan 
Worker 

From a drawing furnished by 
the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture 



2o8 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Cyprians have two other very desirable quahties. They 
stand the cold of winter well, and stoutly defend their 
hives against robber bees and other enemies. 

The Italian is another good bee. This variety was 
imported into the United States in 1 860. While the yield 

from the Italian is 



^.^ 




Fig. 190. A Carniolan Drone 

From a drawing furnished by the United States 

Department of Agriculture 



somewhat less than 
from the Cyprian, 
the Italian bees 
produce a whiter 
comb and are a trifle 
more manageable. 

The common 
black or brown bee 
is found wild and 
domesticated 
throughout the 
country. When 
honey material is abundant, these bees equal the Italians 
in honey production; but, when the season is poor, they 
fall far short in the amount of honey produced. 

The purchase of a good Cyprian or Italian hive will 
richly repay the buyer. This colony will cost more at the 
outset than an ordinary colony, but will soon pay for its 
higher cost by greater production. 

A beehive in the spring contains one queen, several 
hundred drones, and from thirty-five to forty thousand 
workers. The duty of the queen is to lay all the eggs 
that are to hatch the future bees. This she does with 
proverbial industry, often laying as many as four thou- 
sand in twenty-four hours. 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 209 

The workers do all of the work. Some of them visit 
the flowers, take up the nectar into the honey sac, located 
in their abdomens, and carry it to the hive. There other 
workers create a breeze by buzzing with their wings, and 
produce heat by their activity, — all to cause the water to 
evaporate from the nectar and to convert it into honey 
before it is sealed up in the comb. After a big day's 
gathering you may often hear these tireless workers buzz- 
ing till late into the night, or even all through the night. 

You know that the bees get nectar from the flowers of 
various plants. Some of the chief honey plants are alfalfa, 
buckwheat, horse mint, sourwood, white sage, wild penny- 
royal, black gum, holly, chestnut, magnolia, and the tulip, 
often called the poplar. The yield of honey may often 
be increased by providing special 
pasturage for the bees. The 
linden tree, for example, besides 
being ornamental and valuable 
for timber, produces a most bee- 
inviting flower. Vetch, clover, 
and most of the legumes and 
mints are valuable plants to fur- 
nish pasture for bees. Catnip 
may be cultivated for the bees ^^^- '9^- ^ Carniolan 
and sold as an herb as well. ^ , .,.,,, 

From a drawing furnished by the 
In spraying fruit trees to pre- United states Department of 

vent disease, you should always Agriculture 

avoid spraying when the trees are in bloom, since the poison 

of the spray seriously endangers the lives of your bees. 

The eggs laid by the queen, if they are to produce workers, 
require about twenty-one days to bring forth the perfect 




2IO 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



bee. The newly hatched bee commences life as a nurse. 
When ten days old, it begins to try its wings in short 
flights, and in two weeks it begins active work. You may 

distinguish young exercising 
bees from real workers by 
the fact that they do not fly 
directly away upon emerging 
from the hive, but circle 
around a bit in order to make 
sure that they can recognize 
home again, since they would 
receive no cordial welcome if 
they should attempt to enter 




Fig. 192. Good Form of Hive 



another hive. They hesitate upon returning from even 
these short flights, to make sure that they are in front of 
their own door. 

There are several kinds of enemies of the bee which all 
bee keepers should know. One of these is the robber 
bee, that is, a bee from another colony attempting to steal 
honey from the rightful owners, an attempt often result- 
ing in frightful slaughter. Much robbery can be avoided 
by clean handling, — that is, by leaving no honey about to 
cultivate a taste for stolen 
sweets. 

Queenless or otherwise 
weak colonies should be 
protected by a narrow 
entrance that admits only 
one bee at a time. Such a pass may be easily guarded. 
Fig. 193 shows a good anti-robbery entrance which may 
be readily provided for every weak colony. Mice may be 




Fig. 193. Anti-Robbing Entrance 

st, stationary piece ; s, slide ; /, pin, or stop 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 211 

kept out by tin-lined entrances. The widespread fear of 
the kingbird seems unfounded. He rarely eats anything 
but drones, and very few of them. This is also true of the 
swallow. Toads, lizards, and spiders are, however, true 
enemies of the honeybee. 

EXERCISE 

Can you recognize drones, workers, and queens } Do bees usually 
limit their visits to one kind of blossom on any one trip .-' What 
effect has the kind of flower on the flavor of the honey produced ? 
What kind of flowers should the bee keeper provide for his bees.'' 
Is the kingbird really an enemy to the bee ? Apply to Department of 
Agriculture, Washington, D.C., for Farmers' Bulletin 397, on Bees. 

SECTION XLVI — WHY WE FEED 

In the first place, we give various kinds of feeding 
stuffs to our animals that they may live. The heart beats 
all the time, the lungs contract and expand, digestion is 
taking place, the blood circulates through the body — • 
something must supply force for these acts or the animal 
dies. This force is derived from food. 

In the next pl2.ce, food is required to keep the body 
warm. Food in this respect is fuel, and acts in the same 
way that wood or coal does in the stove. Our bodies are 
warm all the time, and they are kept warm by the food we 
eat at mealtimes. 

Then, in the third place, food is required to enable the 
body to enlarge, to grow. If you feed a colt just enough 
to keep it alive and warm, there will be no material present 
to enable it to grow ; hence you must add enough food to 
form bone and flesh and muscle and hair and fat. 



212 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

In the fourth place, we feed to produce strength for work. 
An animal poorly fed cannot do so much work at the plow 
or on the road as one receiving all the food needed. 

Both food and the force produced by it result from the 
activity of plants. By means of sunlight and moisture, 
a sprouting seed, taking out of the air and soil different 
elements, grows into a plant. Then, just as the plant feeds 
upon the air and soil to get its growth, so the animal feeds 
upon the plant to get its growth. Hence, since our animals 
feed upon plants, we must find out what is in plants to 
know what animal food consists of. What, we are now 
ready to ask, are plants made of ? 

Chemists have found out that in studying plants there 
are five important groups of substances to be considered. 
These are protein, carbohydrates, fat, mineral matter, and 
water. What is each of these, and what use does the 
animal make of each .-* 

First, protein, the most important, must be considered. 
The animal food called by this queer name is not unknown 
to you. You have all your lives seen it in compounds like 
the white of an egg, lean meat, or the gluten of wheat. It 
is made of three gases (oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen) 
and two solid bodies (carbon and sulphur). The bodies 
of plants do not contain very much protein. Roots, grass, 
hay, and straw have a very small amount of it. On the other 
hand, all plant seeds contain a good deal of this substance. 
What use do the animals make of protein ? Animals form 
their new blood, their muscles, and their lean meat from 
protein food. It is easy, then, to see the value of protein. 

In addition, this substance rebuilds largely the waste 
of the body. This is harder to understand. Every boy. 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 213 

perhaps, has made a snow man, and knows that unless he 
can add new snow regularly, the body of the snow man will 
soon waste away. All animal bodies are daily using up the 
materials of the body. If this waste is not made up, the 
bodies of animals, like the body of the snow man, soon 
waste away. Now, just as the boy in cold climates supplies 
new snow to his snow man's body to keep it whole, so 
nature uses protein to build up the wasted materials of 
animal bodies. 

Let us next consider the carbohydrates. Sometimes the 
words starchy foods are used to describe the carbohydrates. 
You have long known forms of these in the white material 
of corn and of potatoes. The carbohydrates are formed of 
three elements, — carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. The 
office of this whole group of food is to furnish to animal 
bodies either heat or energy or to enable them to store fat. 

In the next place, let us look at the fat in plant food. 
This consists of the oil stored up in the seeds and other 
parts of the plant. The grains contain most of the oil. 
Fat is used by the animal to make heat and energy or to 
be stored away in the body. 

The next animal food in the plant that we are to think 
about is the mineral matter. The ashes of a burnt plant fur- 
nish a common example of this mineral matter. The animal 
uses this material in the plant to make bone, teeth, and tissue. 

The last thing that the plant furnishes the animal is 
water, — just common water. Young plants contain com- 
paratively large quantities of water. This is one reason 
why young plants are soft, juicy, and palatable. But, since 
animals get their water chiefly in another way, the water 
in feeding stuffs is not important. 



214 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



What these Compounds do in the Body 

Fat 



Protein 

1. Builds flesh, bone, blood, 
internal organs, hair, and milk. 

2. It may be used to make fat. 

3. It may be used for heat. 

4. It may be used to produce 
energy. 

Carbohydrates 

1. To furnish body heat. 

2. To furnish energy, 

3. To make fat. 



1. To furnish body heat. 

2. To furnish energy. 

3. To furnish body fat. 

Mineral Matter 

To furnish mineral matter for 
the bones in the body. 

Water 
To supply water in the body. 



Average Digestible Nutrients in American 
Feeding Stuffs 







Digestible Nutrients in 




Dry Matter 




100 Pounds 
















100 Pounds 


Protein 


Carbo- 
hydrates 


Fat 


Corn stover (field cured) . 


59-5 


17 


324 


0.7 


Timothy hay .... 




86.8 


2.8 


43-4 


1-4 


Soja bean hay . 










88.7 


10.8 


38.7 


1-5 


Oat straw . . 










90.8 


1.2 


38.6 


0.8 


Red clover hay 










84.7 


6.8 


35-8 


1-7 


Alfalfa hay . . 










91.6 


I I.O 


39-6 


1.2 


Cowpea hay 










89-3 


10.8 


38.6 


I.I 


Pea-vine straw 










86.4 


4-3 


Z'^-Z 


0.8 


Corn ensilage . 










20.9 


0.9 


"•3 


0.7 


Crab grass . . 










89-3 


2.4 


47-1 


.6 


Cow's milk . . 










12.8 


3-6 


4-9 


3-7 


Skimmed milk 










9.6 


31 


4-7 


0.8 


Buttermilk . 










9.9 


3-9 


4.0 


I.I 


Oat hay . . . 










91. 1 


4-3 


46.4 


1-5 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



215 



Average Digestible Nutrients in American 
Feeding Stuffs 



Feeding Stuffs 





Digestible Nutrients in 


Dry Matter 




100 Pounds 












100 Pounds 


Protein 


Carbo- 
hydrates 


Fat 


89.1 


7-9 


66.7 


4-3 


84.9 


4.4 


60.0 


2.9 


91.8 


25.8 


43-4 


II. 


92.2 


20.4 


48.4 


8.8 


89-5 


10.2 


69.2 


1-7 


88.1 


12.2 


39-2 


2.7 


87.9 


12.8 


53-0 


3-4 


88.4 


9.9 


67.6 


I.I 


89.1 


8.7 


65.6 


1.6 


89.0 


9.2 


47-3 


4.2 


87.6 


4.8 


72.2 


0-3 


91.8 


1.6 


44-5 


0.6 


90-3 


5-3 


45-1 


7-3 


84.8 


7.8 


57-1 


2.7 


89.7 


12.5 


30.0 


17-3 


91.8 


37-2 


16.9 


12.2 


88.9 


0-3 


33-1 


1-7 


89-3 


42.9 


22.8 


6.9 


89.2 


29.6 


22.3 


14.4 


85.2 


18.3 


54.2 


I.I 


89.9 


28.2 


40.1 


2.8 


91.8 


15-7 


36.3 


51 



Corn 

Com and cob meal . 
Gluten meal . . . 
Gluten feed . . . 

Wheat 

Wheat bran . . . 
Wheat middlings 

Rye 

Barley .... 

Oats 

Rice 

Rice hulls . . . 
Rice bran . . . 
Kaffir corn . . 
Cotton seed 
Cotton-seed meal 
Cotton-seed hulls 
Peanut meal . . 
Soja beans . . . 
Cowpeas . . . 
Linseed meal (new) 
Brewer's grain (dry) 



CHAPTER IX 

FARM DAIRYING 

SECTION XLVII— THE DAIRY COW 

Success in dairy farming depends largely upon proper 
feeding of stock. There are two questions that the dairy 
farmer should always ask himself : first, Am I feeding as 
cheaply as I can ? second, Am I feeding the best rations 
for milk and butter production? Of course cows can be 
kept alive and in fairly good milk flow upon many different 
kinds of food; but in feeding, as in everything else, there 
is an ideal to be sought. 

What, then, is an ideal ration for a dairy cow.? Before 
trying to answer this question, the word ration needs to be 
explained. By ration is meant a sufficient quantity of food 
to properly support an animal for one day. If the animal 
is to have a proper ration, we must bear in mind what the 
animal needs in order to be best nourished. To get 
material for muscle, for blood, for milk, and for some 
other things, the animal needs, in the first place, food that 
contains protein. To keep warm, to get the necessary 
amount of fat, etc., the animal must, in the second place, 
have food containing carbohydrates and fats. These foods 
must be mixed in right proportions. 

With these facts in mind we are prepared for an answer 
to the question. What is an ideal ration? 

216 



FARM DAIRYING 



217 



First, it is a ration that, without waste, gives both in 
weight and bulk of dry matter a sufficient amount of 
digestible, nutritious food. 

Second, it is a ration that is comparatively cheap. 

Third, it is a ration in which the milk-forming (protein) 
food is rightly proportioned to the heat and fat-making 




Fig. 194. Milking Time 



(carbohydrates and fat) food. Any ration in which this 
proportion is neglected is badly balanced. 

Now test one or two commonly used rations by these rules. 
Would a ration of cotton-seed meal and cotton-seed hulls 
be a model ration .■* No. Such a ration, since the seeds are 
grown at home, would be cheap enough. However, it is 
badly balanced, for it is too rich in protein ; hence it is a 
wasteful ration. Would a ration of corn meal and corn stover 
be a desirable ration } This, too, since the corn is home- 
grown, would be cheap for the farmer; but like the other 



2l8 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



it is badly balanced, for it contains too much carbohydrate 
food. This excess of fatty food makes it also wasteful. 

A badly balanced ration does harm in two ways : first, 
the milk flow of the cow is lessened by such ration ; second, 
the cow does not profitably use the food that she eats. 

The following table gives an excellent dairy ration for the 
farmer who has a silo. If he does not have a silo, some 
other food can be used in place of the ensilage. The table 
also shows what each food contains. As you grow older, it 
will pay you to study such tables most carefully. 





Digestible Matter 


Feeding Stuffs 


Dry 
Matter 


Protein 


Carbo- 
hydrates 


Fat 


Cowpea hay = 15 pounds . . . 
Corn stover = 10 pounds . . . 
Corn ensilage = 30 pounds . . . 
Cotton-seed meal = 2 pounds . . 


13-50 

5-95 
6.27 
1.83 


1.62 
•17 

•27 
-74 


5-79 

3-24 

3-39 

■33 


.16 
.07 
.21 
.24 


Total = 57 pounds . . . 


27-55 


2.80 


12.75 


.68 



Send to the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., for a valuable 
free bulletin on feeding animals. 

Care of the Cow. As the cow is one of the best money- 
makers on the farm, she should, for this reason, if for no 
other, be comfortably housed, well fed and watered, and 
most kindly treated. In your thoughts for her well-being, 
bear the following directions in mind: 

I. If you are not following a balanced ration, feed each 
day several different kinds of food. In this way you will 
be most likely not to waste food. 



FARM DAIRYING 



219 



2. Feed at regular hours. Cows, like people, thrive 
best when their lives are orderly, 

3. Milk at regular hours. 

4. Brush the udder carefully with a moist cloth before 
you begin to milk. Cleanliness in handling makes the 
milk keep longer. 

5. Always milk in buckets or cups that have been 
scalded since the last using. The hot water kills the 
bacteria that collect in the dents or cracks of the utensil. 




Fig. 195. Dairy 

6. Never let the milk pail remain in the stable. Milk 
rapidly absorbs impurities. These spoil the flavor and 
cause the milk to sour. 

7. Never scold nor strike the cow. She is a nervous 
animal, and rough usage checks the milk flow. 



220 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



SECTION XLVIII — MILK, CREAM, CHURNING, 
AND BUTTER 

Milk. Milk is, as you know, nature's first food for 
mammals. This is because milk is a model food: it con- 
tains water to slake thirst, ash to make bone, protein to 
make flesh and muscle, fat and sugar to keep the body 
warm and to furnish energy. 

The Different Kinds of Milk, (i) Whole, or unskimmed, 
milk, (2) skimmed milk, (3) buttermilk, are too familiar 
to need description. When the cow is just fresh, milk is 
called colostrum. This colostrum is rich in the very food 
that the baby calf needs. After the calf is a few days old, 
colostrum changes to what is commonly known as milk. 

The following table shows the composition of each of 
the different forms of milk. 



Composition of Milk 



Colostrum . . . 
Milk (unskimmed) 
Skimmed milk 
Buttermilk . . . 



Digestible Matter in too Pounds 



Dry 
Matter 



25.4 
12.8 

9.4 
9.9 



Protein 



17.6 

3-6 
2.9 

3-9 



Carbo- 
hydrates 



27 
4.9 

5-2 

4.0 



3-6 

3-7 

••3 
I.I 



A noticeable fact in this table is that skimmed milk 
differs from unskimmed mainly in the withdrawal of the 
fat. Hence, if calves are fed on skimmed milk, some food, 
like corn meal, should be given them to take the place of 
the fat withdrawn. The calf cannot thrive on skimmed 



FARM DAIRYING 



221 



milk alone. The amount of nourishing fat that a calf gets 
out of enough milk to make a pound of butter can be 
bought, in the form of linseed or corn meal, for one or 
two cents, while the butter fat is worth, for table use, 
twenty-five cents. Of course, then, it is not economical 
to allow calves to use unskimmed milk. Some people 
undervalue skimmed milk ; with the addition of some fatty 
food, it makes an excellent ration for calves, pigs, and fowls. 




Fig. 196. Airing the Cans 



Cream. Cream is simply a mixture of butter fat and 
milk. The butter fat floats in the milk in little globe- 
shaped bodies, or globules. Since these globules are lighter 
than milk, they rise to the surface. Skimming the milk 
is a mere gathering together of these butter fat globules. 
As most of the butter fat is contained in the cream, pains 
should be taken to get all the cream from the milk. 



222 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



After the cream has been collected, it must be allowed 
" to ripen "or " to sour " in order that it may be more easily 
churned. Churning is only a second step to collect in a 
compact shape the fat globules. It often happens that at 




■-1 



Fig. 197. A Hand Separator 

churning time the cream is too warm for successful sepa- 
ration of the globules. Whenever this is the case, the 
cream must be cooled. 

The Churn. Revolving churns without inside fixtures 
are best. Hence, in buying, select a barrel or a square 



FARM DAIRYING 



223 



box churn. This kind of churn "brings the butter" by 
the falHng of the cream from side to side as the churn is 
revolved. Never fill the churn more than one third or one 
half full of cream. A small churn is always to be avoided. 

Churning. The proper temperature for churning ranges 
from 58° to 62° Fahrenheit. Test the cream when it is 
put into the churn. If 
it be too cold, add warm 
water until the proper 
temperature is reached ; 
if too warm, add cold 
water or ice until the 
temJDerature is brought 
down to 62°. Do not 
churn too long, for this 
spoils butter. As soon 
as the granules of butter 
are somewhat smaller 
than grains of wheat, 
stop the churn. Then 
draw off the buttermilk, 
and at a temperature as 
low as 50° wash the but- 
ter in the churn. This 

washing with cold water so hardens the granules that 
they do not mass too solidly and thus destroy the grain. 

Butter. The butter thus churned is now ready to be 
salted. Use good, fine dairy salt. Coarse barrel salt is 
not fit for butter. The salt can be added while the butter 
is still in the churn or after it is put upon the butter-worker. 
Never work by hand. The object of working is to get the 




Fig. k 



A Power Churn 



224 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

salt evenly distributed and to drive out some of the brine. 
It is usually best to work butter twice. The two work- 
ings bring about a more even mixture of the salt and 
drive off more water. But one cannot be too particular 
not to overwork butter. Delicate coloring, attractive 
stamping, and proper covering with paper cost little, and 
of course add to the ready and profitable sale of butter. 




Fig. 199. Silo and Herd 

Dairy Rules 

77/1? Stable and Cows 

1. Whitewash the stable once or twice each year ; use land plaster, 
muck, or loam daily in the manure gutters. 

2. On their way to pasture or milking place, do not allow the cows 
to be driven at a faster gait than a comfortable walk. 

3. Give abundance of pure water. 

4. Do not change feed suddenly. 

5. Keep salt always within reach of each cow. 

Milking 
r. Milk with dry hands. 

2. Never allow the milk to touch the milker's hands. 

3. Require the milker to be clean in person. 

4. Milk quietly, quickly, thoroughly. Never leave a drop of milk 
in the cow's udder. 

5. Do not allow cats, dogs, or other animals around at milking time. 



FARM DAIRYING 225 

77^1? Utensils 

1. Use only tin or metal cans and pails. 

2. See that all utensils are scrupulously clean and free from rust, 

3. Require all cans and pails to be scalded immediately after they 
are used. 

4. After milking, keep utensils inverted in pure air, and sun them, 
if possible, until wanted for use. 

5. Always sterilize the churn with steam or boiling water before 
and after churning. This prevents any odors or bad flavors from 
affectins: the butter. 



SECTION XLIX — HOW MILK SOURS 

On another page I have told you how the yeast plant 
grows in cider and causes it to sour, and how bacteria 
sometimes cause disease in animals and plants. Now I 



°-°- (5-0.° o o p°oo .oo-^'->5..o° °'o :o 







o 






o 



Fig. 200. Microscopic Appearance of Pure and Impure Milk 

First, pure milk ; second, milk after standing in a warm room for a few hours in a 
dirty dish, showing, besides the fat globules, many forms of bacteria 

want to tell you what these same living forms have to do 
with the souring of milk, and maybe I can also suggest 
how you can prevent your milk from souring. In the first 



226 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

place, milk sours because bacteria from the air fall into the 
milk, begin to grow, and very shortly change the sugar of 
the milk to an acid. When this acid becomes abundant, 
the milk begins to curdle. As I have said, the bacteria 
are in the air, in water, in barn dust ; they stick on bits of 
hay and to the cow. They are most plentiful, however, in 
milk that has soured ; hence, if we pour a little sour milk into 
a pail of fresh milk, the fresh milk will sour very quickly, 
because we have, so to speak, "seeded " or "planted " the 
fresh milk with the souring germs. No one, of course, 
ever does this purposely in the dairy, yet people some- 
times do what amounts to the same thing, — that is, put 
fresh milk into poorly cleaned pails or pans, the cracks 
and corners of which are cosy homes for millions of germs 
left from the last sour milk contained in the vessel. It 
follows, then, that all utensils used in the dairy should be 
thoroughly scalded so as to kill all germs present, and 
particular care should be taken to clean the cracks and 
crevices, for in them the germs lurk. 

In addition to this thorough cleansing with hot water, 
we should be careful never to stir up the dust of the barn 
just before milking. Such dusty work as pitching hay or 
stov^er or arranging bedding should be done either long 
before or after milking time, for more germs fall into the 
milk if the air be full of dust. 

To further avoid germs, the milker should wear clean 
overalls, should have clean hands, and above all should 
never wet his hands with milk. This last habit, in addi- 
tion to being filthy, lessens the keeping power of the milk. 
The milker should also moisten the parts of the cow nearest 
him, so that dust from the cow's sides may not fall into 



FARM DAIRYING 22/ 

the milker's pail. For greater cleanliness and safety many 
milkmen curry their cows. 

The first few streams from each teat should be thrown 
away, because the teat at its mouth is filled with milk 
which, being exposed to the air, is full of germs, and will 
do much toward souring the other milk in the pail. Barely 
a gill will be lost by throwing the first drawings away, and 
this of the poorest milk too. The increase in the keeping 
quality of the milk will much more than repay the small 
loss. If these precautions are taken, the milk will keep sev- 
eral hours or even days longer than milk carelessly handled. 
By taking these steps to prevent germs from falling into the 
milk, a can of milk was once kept sweet for thirty-one days. 

The work of the germ in the dairy is not, however, con- 
fined to souring the milk. It is the germ that gives to the 
different kinds of cheeses their characteristic flavors and to 
the butter its flavor. If the right germ is present, cheese 
or butter gets a proper flavor. Sometimes undesirable 
germs gain entrance and give flavors that we do not like. 
Such germs produce cheese or butter diseases. " Bitter 
butter" is one of these diseases. To keep out all unpleas- 
ant meddlers, thoroughly cleanse and scald every utensil. 

EXERCISE 

What causes milk to sour ? Why do unclean utensils affect the 
milk? How should milk be cared for to prevent its souring? 
Prepare two samples, one carefully, the other carelessly. Place them 
side by side. Which keeps longer ? Why ? Write to the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture for Farmers' Bulletin, No. 63, on " Care of Milk 
on the Farm." 



CHAPTER X 
MISCELLANEOUS 

SECTION L — GROWING FEEDING STUFFS ON 
THE FARM 

Economy in raising live stock demands the production of 
all "roughness" or roughage materials on the farm. By 
roughness, or roughage, of course you understand bulky 
food, like hay, grass, clover, stover, etc. It is possible to 
.purchase all roughage materials and yet make a financial 
success of growing farm animals, but this certainly is not 
the surest way to succeed. Every farm should raise all its 
feed stuff. In deciding what forage and grain crops to 
grow we should decide upon : 

1. The crops best suited to our soil and climate. 

2. The crops best suited to our line of business. 

3. The crops that will give us most protein. 

4. The crops that produce the most. 

5 . The crops that will keep our soil in best condition. 

I. Crops best suited to our soil and climate. Farm 
crops, as every child of the farm knows, are not equally 
adapted to all soils and climates. Cotton cannot be pro- 
duced where the climate is cool and the seasons short. 
Timothy and blue grass are most productive on cool, lime- 
stone soils. Cowpeas demand warm, dry soils. But in 
spite of climatic limitations, nature has been generous in 
the wide variety of forage she has given us. 

Our aim should be to make the best use of what we have, 
to improve by selection and care those species best adapted 

228 



MISCELLANEOUS 



229 



to our soil and climate, and by better methods of growing 
and curing to secure greatest yields at least possible cost, 

2. Crops best suited to our line of business. A farmer 
necessarily becomes a specialist : he gathers those kinds 
of Uve stock about him which he likes best and which he 
finds most profitable. He should, in carrying on his busi- 
ness, do the same with crops. 

The successful railroad manager determines by practical 
experience what distances his engines and crews ought to 




Fig. 201. Feeding Time 



run in a day, what coal is most economical for his engines, 
what schedules best suit the needs of his road, what trains 
pay him best. These and a thousand and one other matters 
are settled by the special needs of his road. 

Ought the man who wants to make his farm pay be less 
prudent and less far-sighted ? Ought he not to know his 
farm as the railroad manager knows his road ? Should not 



230 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

his past failures and his past triumphs decide his future? 
If he be a dairy farmer, ought he not by practical tests to 
settle for himself not only what crops are most at home 
on his land but also what crops in his circumstances yield 
him the largest returns in milk and butter ? If swine rais- 
ing be his business, how long ought he to guess what crop 
on his land yields him the greatest amount of hog food ? 
Should a colt be fed on one kind of forage when the land 
that produced that forage would produce twice as much 
equally good forage of another kind ? All these questions 
the prudent farmer should answer promptly and in the light 
of wise experiments. 

3. Crops that will give us most protein. It is the 
farmer's business to grow all the grass and forage that his 
farm animals need. He ought never to be obliged to pur- 
chase a bale of forage. Moreover, he should grow mainly 
those kinds of crops that are rich in protein materials, such 
for example as cowpeas, alfalfa, and clover. If these kinds 
of crops are produced on the farm, there will be little need 
of buying cotton-seed meal, corn, and bran, for feeding 
purposes. 

4. Crops that produce the most. We often call a crop 
a crop without considering how much it yields. This is 
a mistake. We ought to grow, when we have choice of 
two, the one that is the best and most productive. Corn, 
for instance, yields at least twice the quantity of feeding 
material an acre that timothy does. 

5. Crops that will keep our soil in best conditiofi. A 
good farmer should always be thinking of improving his 
soil. He wants his land to support him, and to maintain 
his children after he is dead. 




231 



232 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Since cowpeas, clover, and alfalfa add atmospheric nitro- 
gen to the soil and at the same time are the best feeding 
materials, it follows that these crops should hold an impor- 
tant place in every system of crop rotation. By proper 
rotating, by proper terracing, and by proper drainage, land 
may be made to retain its fertility for generations. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Why are cowpeas, clover, and alfalfa so important to the farmer? 

2. What is meant by the protein of a food ? 

3. Why is it better to feed farm crops on the farm to animals 
rather than sell these crops ? 



SECTION LI — FARM TOOLS AND MACHINES 

The drudgery of farm life is diminished in a large meas- 
ure by the constant invention or improvement of farm 
tools and machines. You each know, perhaps, how tire- 
some is the old up-and-down churn dasher that has now 
pretty generally given place to the "quick coming" 
churns. The toothed, horse-drawn cultivator has about 
displaced " the man with the hoe." The grass sickle, 
slow and back-breaking, is everywhere getting out of the 
way of the horse mower and rake. The old heavy, sweat- 
drawing grain cradle is slinking into the backwoods, and 
in its place we have the horse, or steam-drawn harvester 
that cuts and binds the grain, and even threshes and 
measures it at one operation. Instead of the plowman 
wearily making one furrow at a time, the gang plows 
of the plains cut many furrows at one time, and instead 




Fig. 204. The Harvester at Work 




Fig. 205. In Need of Improvement 



233 



234 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

of walking the plowman rides. The shredder and husker 
turns the hitherto useless cornstalk into savory food, and 
at the same time husks, or shucks, the corn. 

The farmer of the future must know three things well : 
first, what machines he can profitably use ; second, how 
to manage these machines ; third, how to care for these 
machines. 

This machinery that makes farming so much more eco- 
nomical, and that makes the farmer's life so much easier 
and more comfortable, is too complicated to be put into 
the hands of bunglers who will soon destroy it, and it is too 
costly to be left in the fields or under trees to rust and rot. 

If it is not convenient for every farmer to have a separate 
tool house, he should at least set apart a room in his barn 
or a shed for storing his tools and machines. As soon as a 
plow, harrow, cultivator — indeed any tool or machine — has 
finished its share of work for the season, it should receive 
whatever attention it needs to prevent rusting, and be 
carefully housed. 

Such care, which is neither costly nor burdensome, will 
add many years to the life of the machine. 

SECTION LIT — BIRDS 

What do birds do in the world ? is an important ques- 
tion for us to think about. First, we must gain by obser- 
vation and by personal acquaintance with the living birds a 
knowledge of their work and their way of doing it. In 
getting this knowledge, let us also consider what we can 
do for our birds to render their work as complete and 
effective as possible. 



MISCELLANEOUS 



235 



Think of what the birds are doing on every farm, in 
every garden, and about every home in the land. Think 
of the milUons of beautiful wings, of the graceful and 
attractive figures, of the cunning nests, and of the singing 
throats ! Do you think that the whole service of the birds 
is to be beautiful, to sing beautifully, and to rear their 
little ones ? By no means 
is this their chief service to 
man. Aside from these 
values, their greatest work 
is to destroy insects. It is 
one of the wise provisions of 
nature that many of the most 
brilliantly winged and the 
most enchanting songsters 
are our most practical friends. 

Not all birds feed upon 
insects and animals ; but 
even those that eat but a 
small amount of insect food 
may still destroy insects 
that would have damaged 
fruit and crops much more than the birds themselves do. 

As to their food, birds are divided into three" general 
classes. First, those that live wholly or almost wholly 
upon insects. These are called insectivorous birds. Chief 
among these are the warblers, cuckoos, swallows, martins, 
flycatchers, night hawks, whippoorwills, swifts, and hum- 
ming birds. We cannot have too many of these birds. 
They should be encouraged and protected. They should 
be supplied with shelter and water. 




Fig. 206. A Kingbird 



236 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Birds of the second class feed by preference upon fruits, 
nuts, and grain, — the bluebird, robin, wood thrush, mock- 
ing bird, catbird, chickadee, cedar bird, meadow lark, oriole, 
jay, crow, and woodpecker belong to this group. Those 
that winter with us — the chickadee, nuthatch, brown 
creeper, and woodpecker — perform a service for us by 
devouring many weed seeds. 

The third class is known as hard-billed birds. It 
includes those birds that live principally upon seeds and 
grain, — the canary, goldfinch, sparrows, and some others. 

Birds that come early, like the bluebird, robin, and red- 
wing, are of special service in destroying insects before 
the insects lay their eggs for the season. 

The robins on the lawn search out the caterpillars and 
cutworms. The chipping sparrow and the wren in the 
shrubbery look out for all kinds of insects. They watch 
over the orchard and feed freely upon the enemies of the 
apple and other fruit trees. The trunks of these trees are 
often attacked by borers, which gnaw holes in the bark and 
wood, and often cause the death of the trees. The wood- 
peckers hunt for these appetizing borers and by means of 
their barbed tongues bring them from their hiding places. 
On the outside of the bark of the trunk and branches the 
bark lice work. These are devoured by the nuthatches, 
creepers, and chickadees. 

In winter, the bark is the hiding place for hibernating 
insects, like plant lice, which in summer feed upon the 
leaves. Throughout the winter a single chickadee will 
destroy immense numbers of the eggs of the cankerworm 
moth and the plant louse. The blackbirds, meadow larks, 
crows, quail, and sparrows are the great protectors of the 



MISCELLANEOUS 



237 



meadow and field crops. These birds feed upon the army 
worms and cutworms that do so much injury to the young 
shoots ; they also destroy the chinch bug and the grass- 
hopper, both of which feed upon cultivated plants, 

A count of all the different kinds of animals shows that 
insects make up nine tenths of the animals. Hence it is 
easy to see that if something did not check their increase 
they would soon 
almost take the earth. 
Our forests and or- 
chards furnish homes 
and breeding places 
for most of these 
insects. Suppose the 
injurious insects were 
allowed to multiply 
unchecked in these 
forests, their numbers 
would so increase that 
they would invade our 
fields and create as 
much terror among 
the farmers as they did in Pharaoh's Egypt. The birds 
are the only direct friends man has to destroy these harm- 
ful insects. What benefactors, then, these little feathered 
neighbors are ! 

It has been estimated that a bird will devour thirty 
insects daily. Even in a widely extended forest region 
a v^ery few birds to the acre, if they kept up this rate, 
would daily destroy many bushels of insects that would 
play havoc with neighboring orchards and fields. 




Fig. 207. A Warbler 



238 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Do not imagine, however, that to destroy insects is the 
only use of birds. By care we can surround ourselves with 
a world of birds, sweet of song and brilliant of plumage. 
Surely the day is more charmingly spent when the birds 
sing, and when they flit in and out, giving us a glimpse 

now and then of 
"v / their pretty coats 

and quaint ways. 

If the birds felt 
that man was a 
friend and not a foe, 
they would often 
turn to him for pro- 
tection. During 
times of severe 
storm, extreme 
drought, scarcity of 
food, if the birds 
were sufficiently 
tamed to come to 
man as their friend as they do in rare cases now, a little 
food and shelter might tide them over the hard time and 
their service afterward would repay the outlay a thousand- 
fold. If the boys in your families would build bird houses 
about the house and barn and in shade trees, they might 
save yearly a great number of birds. In building these 
places of shelter and comfort, due care must be taken to 
keep them clear of English sparrows and out of the reach 
of cats and bird dogs. 

Whatever we do to attract the birds to make homes on 
the premises must be done at the right time and in the 




Fig. 208. The Hairy Woodpecker 



MISCELLANEOUS 



239 



right way. We must know what materials to provide for 
them. Bits of string, hnen, cotton, yarn, tow, all help to 
induce a pair to build in the garden. 

It is an interesting study, — the preparation of homes 
for the birds. Trees may be pruned to make inviting 
crotches. A tangled, overgrown corner in the garden will 
invite some birds to nest. 

Wrens, bluebirds, chickadees, martins, and some other 
varieties are all glad to set up housekeeping in man-made 
houses. The proper size for a bird room is easily remem- 
bered. Give each room six square inches of floor space 




Fig. 209. Protecting our Friends 
From Hodge's " Nature Study and Life," Ginn & Company 



and make it eight inches high. Old, weathered boards 
should be used; or, if paint is employed, a dull color to 
resemble an old tree trunk will be most inviting. A 
single opening near the top should be made two inches 



240 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

in diameter for the larger birds; but if the house is to be 
headquarters for the wren, a one-inch opening is quite large 
enough and the small door serves all the better to keep 
out English sparrows. 

The barn attic should be turned over to the swallows, 
Small holes may be cut high up in the gables and left open 
during the time that the swallows remain with us. They 
will more than pay for shelter by the good work they do 
in ridding the barn of flies, gnats, and mosquitoes. 

SECTION LIII — LIFE IN THE COUNTRY 

As ours is a country in which the people rule, every 
boy and every girl ought to be trained to take a wide-awake 
interest in public affairs. This training cannot begin too 
early in life. A wise old man once said, " In a republic 
you ought to begin to train a child for good citizenship 
on the day of its birth." 

Happy would it be for our nation if all the young people 
who live in the country could begin their training in good 
citizenship by becoming workers for these four things : 

First, attractive country homes. 

Second, attractive country schoolhouses and grounds. 

Third, good country schools. 

Fourth, good roads. 

If the thousands upon thousands of pupils in our schools 
would become active workers for these things, and con- 
tinue their work through life, then, in less than half a cen- 
tury, life in the country would be an unending delight. 

One of the problems of our day is how to keep bright, 
thoughtful, sociable, ambitious boys and girls contented on 




Fig. 210. Beauty frum Flowers and Grass 




Fig. 211. A Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, 
Country Road 

From a photograph furnished by the United States Department of Agriculture 

241 



242 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

the farm. Every step taken to make the country home 
more attractive, to make the school and its grounds more 
enjoyable, to make the way easy to homes of neighbors, 
to school, to post office, to church, is a step taken towards 
keeping on the farm the very boys and girls who are 
most apt to succeed there. 

Not every man who lives in the country can have a 
showy or costly home, but as long as grass and flowers 
and vines and trees grow, any man who wishes can have 
an inviting-looking house. Not every woman who is to 
spend a lifetime at the head of a rural home can have a 
luxuriously furnished home, but any woman who is willing 
to take a little trouble can have a cozy, tastefully fur- 
nished home, a home fitted with the conveniences that 
diminish household drudgery. Even in this day of cheap 
literature, all parents cannot fill their children's home with 
papers, magazines, and books, but by means of school 
and Sunday-school libraries, by means of circulating book 
clubs, and by a little self-denial, earnest parents can feed 
hungry minds just as they feed hungry bodies. 

Agricultural papers that arouse the interest and quicken 
the thought of farm boys by discussing the best, easiest, 
and cheapest ways of farming ; journals full of dainty 
suggestions for household adornment and comfort ; illus- 
trated papers and magazines that amuse and brighten 
every member of the family; books that rest tired bodies, 
— all of these are so cheap that the money reserved from 
the sale of one hog will keep a family fairly supplied 
for a year. 

If the parents, teachers, and pupils of a school join 
hands, an unsightly, ill-furnished, ill-lighted, ill-ventilated 



1 




1 




« 





243 



244 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



schoolhouse can at small cost be changed into one of com- 
fort and beauty. In many places pupils have persuaded their 




Fig. 213. An Unimproved Schoolhouse 

parents to form clubs to beautify the school grounds. Each 
father sends a man or a man with a plow, once or twice a 
year to work a day on the grounds. Stumps are removed, 
trees trimmed, drains put in, grass sown, flowers, shrubbery. 




Fig. 214. An Improved Schoolhouse 

vines, and trees planted, and the grounds tastefully laid 
off. Thus at scarcely noticeable money cost a rough and 




Fig. 215. The Same Road after and before Improvement 
From photographs furnished by the United States Department of Agriculture 



245 



246 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



unkempt school ground gives place to a charming campus. 
Cannot the pupils in every school in which this book is 
studied get their parents to form such a club, and make 
their school ground a silent teacher of neatness and 
beauty ? 

Life in the country will never be as attractive as it 
ought to be until all the roads are improved. Winter- 
washed roads, penning young people in their own homes 
for many months each year and destroying so many of 
the innocent pleasures of youth, build towns and cities out 
of the wreck of country homes. Can young people who 
love their country and their country homes engage in a 
nobler crusade than a crusade for improved highways ? 




Fig. 216. Washington's Country Home 



CHAPTER XI 
SUPPLEMENT 

SECTION LIV — HORTICULTURE 

The word horticullitre is one of those broad words 
under which much is grouped. It includes the cultiva- 
tion of orchard fruits, such as apples and plums ; of small 
fruits, such as strawberries and raspberries ; of garden 
vegetables for the table; of flowers of all sorts, including 
shrubbery and ornamental trees and their arrangement 
into beautiful landscape effects around our homes. Horti- 
culture then is a name for an art that is both far-reaching 
and important. 

The word gardening is generally given to that part of 
horticulture which has for its chief aim the raising of 
vegetables for our tables. 

Flower gardening, or the cultivation of plants that are 
valued for their bloom in making ornamental beds and 
borders and furnishing flowers for the decoration of the 
home, is generally Q.?\\&di floriculture . Landscape garden- 
ing is the art of so arranging flower beds, grass, shrubbery, 
and trees as to produce pleasing effects in the grounds sur- 
rounding our homes, and in the formation of great public 
parks and pleasure grounds. 

Landscape gardening like architecture has developed 
into a great art and is now regarded as one of the 

247 



248 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



so-called "fine arts," that is, arts that require taste, 
education, and refinement. The landscape gardener forms 
pictures in nature just as the artist makes them on canvas, 
but uses natural objects in his pictures instead of paint 
and canvas. 

Market Gardening. Formerly market gardening was 
done on small tracts of land in the immediate vicinity of 




Fig. 217. Straw i>KRK\-CiK<>\\ iNG is an Art 
Copyright, 1903, Doubleday, Page & Co. 

large cities, where supplies of stable manure could be used 
from the city stables. But, with the great increase in 
the population of the cities, these small areas could no 
longer supply the demands, and the introduction of com- 
mercial fertilizers and the building of railroads enabled 
gardeners at great distances from city markets to grow and 
ship their products. Hence now the markets, even in 



HORTICULTURE 



249 



winter, are supplied with fresh vegetables from regions 
where there is no frost. Then, as spring opens, fruits and 
vegetables are shipped from more temperate regions. Later 
vegetables and fruits come from the sections nearer the 
great cities. This gradual nearing of the supply fields 
continues until the gardens near the cities can furnish 
what is needed. Then these Northern gardens reverse 
matters and ship 
their products 
South. 

The market gar- 
deners around the 
great Northern 
cities, finding that 
winter products 
were coming from 
the South and 
from warmer 
regions, began to 
build hothouses 
and by means of 
steam and hot- 
water pipes to make artificially warm climates in these 
glass houses. Many acres of land in the colder sections 
of the country are covered with heated glass houses, and 
in them during the winter are produced fine crops of 
tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, cauliflowers, egg plants, and 
other vegetables. The great perfection which these vege- 
tables attain in spite of their artificial culture, and their 
freshness as compared to the products brought from great 
distances have made winter gardening under glass a very 




Fig. 218. Setting Plants in a Cold Frame 



250 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



profitable business. But it is a business that calls for 

the highest skill and closest attention. 

No garden, even for home use, is complete without 

some glass sashes, and the garden will be all the more 

successful if there 
is a small heated 
greenhouse for 
starting plants 
that are after- 
wards to be set in 
the garden. 

Hotbeds. If 
there is no green- 
house, a hotbed is 
an important help 
in the garden. 
The bed is made 
by digging a pit 
two feet deep, 
seven feet wide, 
and as long as 
necessary. 

The material 
for the hotbed is 
fresh horse ma- 




FiG. 219. The Gladiolus 
Copyright, 1904, Doubleday, Page & Co. 



nure mixed with leaves. This is thrown into a heap to 
heat. As soon as steam is seen coming from the heap, 
the manure is turned over and piled again so that the 
outer part is thrown inside. When the whole is uni- 
formly heated and has been turned two or three times, it 
is packed firmly into the pit already dug. 



HORTICULTURE 



251 



A frame six feet wide, twelve inches high on the north 
side, and eight inches on the south side, and as long as 
the bed is to be, is now made of plank. This is set on the 
heated manure, thus leaving six inches on each side out- 
side the frame. More manure is then banked all around 
it, and three or four inches of fine light and rich soil are 
placed inside the frame. 

The frame is now covered with hotbed sashes six feet 
long and three feet wide. These slide up and down on strips 
of wood let into the sides of the frame. A thermometer 




Fig. 220. Frame to carry the Sash of a Hotbed or 
Cold Frame 

is stuck into the soil and closely watched, for there will be 
too much heat at first for sowing seed. When the heat in 
the early morning is about 85°, seeds may be sowed. The 
hotbed is used for starting tomato plants, egg plants, cab- 
bage plants, and other vegetables that cannot stand expo- 
sure. It should be made about eight or ten weeks before 
the tender plants can be set out in the locality. In the 
South and Southwest, it should be started earlier than in 
the North. For growing the best tomato plants, and for 
such hardy plants as lettuce and cabbage, it will be better 
to have, in addition to the hotbed, cold frames, which need 
not be more than two or three sashes in the home garden. 



252 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Cold Frames. A cold frame is like the frame used 
for a hotbed, but it is placed on well-manured soil in 
a sheltered spot. It is covered with the same kind of 
sashes and is used for hardening the plants sowed in the 
hotbed. 

As soon as the tomato plants are a few inches high in 
the hotbed, they should be transplanted to the cold frame 
and set four inches apart each way. The frame must be 
well banked with earth on the outside, and the glass 
must be covered on cold nights with straw, mats, or old 
carpets to keep out frost. 

Care of Hotbed and Frame. If the sun be allowed to 
shine brightly on the glass of a cold frame or hotbed, it 
will soon raise the temperature in the hotbed to a point 
that will destroy the plants. It is necessary then to pay 
close attention to the bed and, when the sun shines, to 
slip the sashes down, or raise them and place a block 
under the upper end to allow the steam to pass off. The 
cold frame also must be aired when the sun shines, and 
the sashes must be gradually slipped down in mild weather 
Finally, they may be removed entirely on sunshiny days, 
so as to accustom the plants to the open air, but they 
must be replaced at night. For a while before setting 
the plants in the open gardens, leave the sashes off night 
and day. 

While the hotbed may be used for starting plants, it is 
much better and more convenient to have a little green- 
house with fire heat for this purpose. A little house with 
but four sashes on each side will be enough to start a great 
many plants, and will also give room for some flowers in 
pots. With such a house, a student can learn to manage 



HORTICULTURE 253 

a more extensive structure, if he gives close attention to 
airing, watering, and keeping out insects. 

Sowing. The time for sowing the different kinds of 
seeds is an important matter. Seeds vary greatly in their 
requirements. All need three conditions, — a proper degree 
of heat, moisture, and air. Some seeds, like English peas, 
parsnips, beets, and radishes, will germinate and grow when 




Fig. 221. Greenhouse and Cold Frames 
Permission of the Lord & Burnham Company, New York 

the soil is still cool in the early spring, and peas will 
stand quite a frost after they are up. Therefore we plant 
English peas as early as the ground can be worked. 

But if we should plant seeds like corn, string or snap 
beans, squashes, and other tender plants before the ground 
is warm enough, they would decay. 

Seeds cannot germinate in soil that is perfectly dry, 
for there must be moisture to swell them and to start 



254 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



growth. The oxygen of the air is also essential, and if 
seeds are buried so deeply that the air cannot reach them, 
they will not grow, even if warm and moist. 

The depth of planting will vary with the character and 
size of the seed. English peas may be covered six inches 
deep and will be all the better for it, but if corn be covered 
so deep, it hardly gets above the ground. In planting 




Fig. 222. Gathering and Shipping Celery 

From a photograph made at C. A. Dryer's Willow Brook Farm, 
South Lima, N.Y. 

small seeds like those of the radish, cabbage, turnip, let- 
tuce, etc., a good rule is to cover them three times the 
thickness of the seed. 

In sowing seeds when the ground is rather dry, it is a 
good plan, after covering them, to tramp on the row with 
the feet so as to press the soil closely to the seeds and to 
retain moisture for germination, but do not pack the soil 
if it be damp. 



HORTICULTURE 



255 



In spring never dig or plow the garden while it is still 
wet, but always wait until the soil is dry enough to crumble 
freely. 

What Crops to grow. The crops to be raised will of 
course depend upon each gardener's climate, surroundings, 
and markets. Sometimes it may pay a grower, if his 
soil and climate are unusually well suited to one crop, to 
expend most of his time and energy on this crop ; for 
example, in some sections of New York, on potatoes ; in 
parts of Michigan, on celery ; in Georgia, on watermelons ; 
in western 



North Carolina, 
on cabbage. If 
circumstances 
allow this sort 
of gardening, 
it has many 
advantages ; for 
of course it is 
much easier to 
acquire skill 
in growing one 
crop than many. 

On the other 
hand, it often 
happens that a gardener's situation requires him to 
grow most of the crops known to gardening. Each gar- 
dener then must be guided in his selections of crops by 
his surroundings. 

Care of Crops. The gardener who wishes to attain the 
greatest success in his art must do four things. 




Fig. 223. A Large Yield of Cabbages 

From a photograph made at the farm of H. C. Waterhouse, 
Cape Elizabeth, Maine 



256 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

First, he must make his land rich and keep it rich. Much 
of his success depends upon getting his crops on the 
market ahead of his competitors. To do this, his crops 
must grow rapidly, and crops grow rapidly only in rich soil. 
Then, too, land conveniently situated for market gardening 
is nearly always costly. Hence the largest yield ought to 
be gotten from the smallest area of land. The largest 
yield can of course be secured from the richest land. 

Second, the gardener must cultivate his rich land most 
carefully and economically. He crowds his land with 
products that must grow apace. Therefore he, least of 
all growers, can afford to have any of his soil go to feed 
weeds, to have his land wash, or to have his growing 
crops suffer for lack of timely and wise cultivation. To 
cultivate his land economically, the gardener must use the 
best tools, the best machines, and the best methods. 

Third, to get the best results he must grow perfect 
vegetables. To do this, he must add to good tillage a 
knowledge of the common plant diseases and of the ways 
of insects and bacterial pests ; he must know how and when 
to spray, how and when to treat his seed, how and when to 
poison, how and when to trap his insect foes and to destroy 
their hiding places. 

Fourth, not only must the gardener grow perfect vege- 
tables, but he must put them on the market in perfect 
condition and in attractive shape. Who cares to buy 
wilted, bruised, spoiling vegetables .-' Gathering, bun- 
dling, crating, and shipping are all to be watched care- 
fully. Baskets should be neat and attractive, crates 
clean and snug, barrels well packed and well headed. 
Careful attention to all these details brings a rich return. 



HORTICULTURE 



257 



Among the gardener's important crops are the following: 

Asparagus. This is a hardy plant. Its seed may be 
sowed either early in the spring or late in the fall. The 
seeds should be planted in rows. If the plants are well 
cultivated during the spring and summer, they will make 
vigorous roots for transplanting in the autumn. 

In the fall, prepare a piece of land by breaking it 
unusually deep and by manuring it heavily. After the 
land is thoroughly pre- 
pared, make in it fur- 
rows for the asparagus 
roots. These furrows 
should be six inches 
deep and three feet 
apart. Then remove 
the roots from the 
rows where they have 
been growing during 
the summer, and set 
them two feet apart in 
the prepared furrows. 
Cover at once. 

In the following spring, the young shoots must be well 
cultivated. In order to economize space, beets or lettuce 
may be grown between the asparagus rows during this 
first season. With the coming of cold weather, the aspar- 
agus must again be freely manured and all dead tops cut 
off. Some plants will be ready for market the second 
spring. If the bed is kept free from weeds and well 
manured, it will increase in productiveness from year to 
year. 



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Fig. 224. A Crate of Asparagus 



258 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Beans. The most generally planted beans are those 
known as string or snap beans. Of the many varieties, 
all are sensitive to cold, and hence must not be planted 
until frost is over. 

Another widely grown kind of bean is the lima or 
butter bean. There are two varieties of the lima bean. 

One is large and 
grows generally 
on poles. This 
kind does best in 
the Northern 
States. The 
other is a small 
bean and may be 
grown without 
the use of poles. 
This kind is best 
suited to the 




Fig. 225. Ready fur Shipment 



warmer climates of the Southern States. 

Cabbage. In comparatively warm climates, the first 
crop of cabbage is generally grown in the following way. 
The seeds are sowed in beds in September, and the plants 
grown from this sowing are in November transplanted to 
ground laid off in sharp ridges. The young plants, in 
order that they may be somewhat protected from the cold 
of winter, are set on the south side of the ridges. As 
spring approaches the ridge is cut down at each working 
until the field is leveled. 

Early cabbages need heavy applications of manure. In 
the spring, nitrate of soda applied in the rows is very 
helpful. 



HORTICULTURE 



259 



Seeds for the crop following this early crop should be 
sowed in March. Of course these seeds should be of a 
later variety than the first used. The young plants should 
be transplanted as soon as they are large enough. Early 
cabbages are set in rows three feet apart, and the plants 
are set eighteen inches apart in the row. As the later 
varieties grow larger than the earlier ones, the plants 
should be set two feet apart in the row. 

In growing late fall and winter cabbage, the time of 
sowing; varies with the climate. For the Northern and 
Middle States, seeding should be done in the last of March 
and in April. South of a line passing west from Virginia 
it is hard to carry 
cabbages through 
the heat of sum- 
mer and get them 
to head in the fall. 
However, if the 
seeds are sowed 
about the first of 
August in rich 
and moist soil, 
and the plants set 
in the same sort Fig. 226. Fatty-Pan Squash 

of soil in Septem- Copyright, 1904, Doubleday, Page & Co. 

ber, large heads can be secured for the December market. 
Celery. In the extreme northern part of our country, 
celery seeds are often sowed in a greenhouse or hotbed. 
This is done in order to secure early plants for summer 
blanching. This plan, however, suits only very cool 
climates. 




26o AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

In the Middle States, the seeds are usually sowed in a 
well-prepared bed about April. The plants are moved to 
other beds as soon as they need room. Generally in July 
they are transplanted to rows prepared for them. These 
should be four feet apart, and the plants should be set six 
inches apart in the row. The celery bed should be care- 
fully cultivated during the summer. In the fall, hill the 
stalks up enough to keep them erect. After the growing 
season is over, dig them and set them in trenches. The 
trenches should be as deep as the celery is tall, and after 
the celery is put in them, they should be covered with 
boards and straw. 

In the more southern states, celery is usually grown 
in beds. The beds are generally made six feet wide, and 
rows a foot apart are run crosswise. The plants are set 
six inches apart, in September, and the whole bed is 
earthed up as the season advances. Finally, when winter 
comes, the beds are covered with leaves or straw to pre- 
vent the plants from freezing. The celery is dug and 
bunched for market at any time during the winter. 

By means of cold frames, a profitable crop of spring 
celery may be raised. Have the plants ready to go into 
the cold frames late in October or early in November. 
The soil in the frame should be made very deep. The 
plants should make only a moderately rapid growth during 
the winter. In the early spring, they will grow rapidly 
and so crowd one another as to blanch well. As celery 
grown in this way comes on the market at a time when no 
other celery can be had, it commands a good price. 

In climates as warm as that of Florida, beds of celery 
can be raised in this way without the protection of cold 



HORTICULTURE 



261 



frames, A slight freeze does not hurt celery, but a long- 
continued freezing spell will destroy it. 

Some kinds of celery seem to turn white naturally. 
These are called self-blanching kinds. Other kinds need 
to be banked with earth in order to make the stalks whiten. 
This kind usually gives the best and crispest stalks. 




Fig. 227. An Onion Harvest 

From a photograph made at C. A. Dryer's Willow Brook Farm, 
South Liina, .N.Y. 



Cucumbers and Cantaloupes. Although cucumbers and 
cantaloupes are very different plants, they are grown in 
precisely the same way. Some gardeners plant them 
in hills. This, however, is perhaps not the best way. 
It is better to lay the land off in furrows six feet apart. 
After filling these with well-rotted stable manure, throw 
soil over them. Then make the top flat and plant the 
seeds. After the plants are up, thin them out, leaving 



262 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



them a foot apart in the rows. Cultivate regularly and 
carefully until the vines cover the entire ground. 

It is a good plan to sow cowpeas at the last working of 
cantaloupes, in order to furnish some shade for the melons. 
As both cucumbers and cantaloupes are easily hurt by 
cold, they should not be planted until the soil is warm and 

all danger of frost 
is past. 

Cucumbers are 
always cut while 
they are green. 
They should 
never be pulled 
from the vine, but 
should always be 
cut with a piece 
of the stem at- 
tached. Canta- 
loupes should be 
gathered before 
they turn yellow and should be ripened in the house. 

In some sections of the country, the little striped cucum- 
ber beetle attacks the melons and cucumbers just as they 
come up. These beetles are very active and if their 
attacks are not prevented, they will destroy the tender 
plants. Bone dust and tobacco dust applied just as the 
plants come up will prevent these attacks. This treat- 
ment not only keeps off the beetle, but also helps the 
growth of the plants. 

Egg Plants. Egg plants are so tender that they cannot, 
like tomatoes, be transplanted to cold frames and gradually 




h a. 

Fig. 228. Striped Cucumber Beetle 
AND Larva. (All magnified) 

After Division of Entomology 



HORTICULTURE 



263 



hardened to stand the cold spring air. These plants, 
started in a warm place, must be kept there until the soil 
to which they are to be transplanted is well warmed by 
the advance of spring. After the warm weather has fully 
set in, transplant them to rich soil, setting them three 
feet apart each way. This plant needs very much manure. 




Fig. 229. An Onion Crop 
Raised by D. M. Banks, Greenfield Hill, Conn. 

If large, perfect fruit is expected, the ground can hardly 
be made too rich. 

Egg plants are subject to the same bacterial blight that 
is so destructive to tomatoes. The only way to prevent 
this disease is to plant in ground not lately used for toma- 
toes or potatoes. 

Onions. The method of growing onions varies with 
the use which it is intended to make of them. To make 
the early sorts, which are eaten green in the spring, little 
onions called sets are planted. These are grown from 



264 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

seeds sowed very late in the spring. The seeds are sowed 
very thickly in rows in rather poor land. The object of 
selecting poor land is that the growth of the sets may be 
slow. When the sets have reached the size of very small 
marbles, they are ready for the fall planting. 

In the South, the sets may be planted in September. 
Plant them in rows in rich and well-fertilized soil. They 
will be ready for market in March or April. In the 
more northerly states, the sets are to be planted as early 
as possible in the spring. 

To grow ripe onions, the seeds are to be sowed as early 
in the spring as the ground can be worked. The plants 
are thinned to a stand of three inches in the rows. As 
they grow, the soil is drawn away from them so that the 
onions sit on top of the soil with only their roots in the 
earth. 

As soon as the tops ripen, pull the onions and let them 
lie in the sun until the tops are dry. Then put them 
under shelter. As the onions keep best with their tops 
attached, do not remove these until it is time for marketing. 

Peas. The English pea is about the first vegetable to 
be planted. It may be planted just as soon as the ground 
is in workable condition. Peas are planted in rows and it 
is a good plan to stretch wire netting for them to climb on. 
However, where peas are extensively cultivated, they are 
allowed to fall on the ground. 

There are many sorts of peas, differing both in quality 
and time of production. The first to be planted are the 
extra early varieties. These are not so fine as the later 
wrinkled sorts, but the seeds are less apt to rot in cold 
ground. Following these some of the fine, wrinkled sorts 



HORTICULTURE 265 

are to be planted in regular succession. Peas do not 
need much manure and do best in a light, warm soil. 

Tomatoes. There is no vegetable grown that is more 
largely used than the tomato. Whether fresh or canned 
it is a staple article of food. 

By careful selection and breeding, the fruit of the 
tomato has, in recent years, been very much improved. 
There are now a great many varieties that produce per- 
fectly smooth and solid fruit, and the grower can hardly 
go amiss in his selection of seeds. 

Early tomatoes are started in the greenhouse or in the 
hotbed about ten weeks before the time for setting the 
plants in the open ground. They are transplanted to 
cold frames as soon as they are large enough to handle. 
This is done to harden the plants and to give them room 
to grow strong and stout before the final transplanting. 

In kitchen gardens, they are planted in rows four feet 
apart with the plants two feet apart in the rows. They 
are generally trained to stakes with but one stalk to the 
stake. When, however, there is plenty of space, the plants 
are allowed to grow at will and to tumble on the ground. 
In this way they bear large crops. During the winter 
the markets are supplied with tomatoes either from tropi- 
cal sections or from hothouses. As those grown in the 
hothouses are superior in flavor to those shipped from 
Florida and the West Indies, great quantities are grown 
in this way and command good prices. 

In the South, the bacterial blight, which attacks the 
plants of this family, is a serious drawback to tomato cul- 
ture. The only way to escape this disease is to avoid 
planting tomatoes on land in which egg plants, tomatoes, 



266 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

or potatoes have been blighted. Lime spread on the soil 
seems to prevent the blight for one season. 

At the approach of frost in the fall, green tomatoes can 
easily be preserved by wrapping them in paper. Gather 
them carefully and wrap each separately. Pack them in 
boxes and store in a cellar that is close enough to prevent 
the freezing of the fruit. A few days before the tomatoes 
are wanted for the table, unpack as many as are wanted, 
and allow them to ripen in a warm room. 

Tomatoes require a rich soil. Scattering a small quan- 
tity of nitrate of soda around their roots promotes rapid 
growth. 

Watermelons. As watermelons need more room than 
can usually be spared in a garden, they are commonly 
grown as a field crop, 

A very light sandy soil suits watermelons best. They 
can be grown on very poor soil if a good supply of com- 
post be placed in each hill. The land for the melons 
should be laid off in about ten-foot checks, that is, the 
furrows should cross one another at right angles every 
ten feet. A wide hole should be dug where the furrows 
cross, and into this, composted manure should be put. 

The best manure for watermelons is a compost of stable 
manure and wood mold from the forest. Pile the manure 
and wood mold in alternate layers for some time before 
the planting season. During the winter, cut through the 
pile several times until the two are thoroughly mixed and 
very finely pulverized. 

At planting time, put two or three shovelfuls of this 
compost into each of the prepared holes, and over the 
top of the manure scatter a handful of any high-grade 



HORTICULTURE 



267 



complete fertilizer. Then cover fertilizer and manure with 
soil and plant the seeds in this soil. In cultivating, plow 
both ways of the checked rows and throw the earth toward 
the plants. 

Some growers pinch off the vines when these have 
grown about three feet long. This is done to make them 
branch more freely, but it is not necessary. 

A serious disease, the watermelon wilt, is rapidly spread- 
ing through the melon sections. This disease is caused 
by germs in the soil. If land ever becomes infected with 
these germs, it is nearly impossible to destroy them. If 
the wilt appear in your neighborhood, do not allow any 
stable manure to be used on your melon land, since the 
germs are scattered chiefly by means of stable manure. 




Fig. 230. Dewberries 



SECTION LV — FLOWER GARDENING 

The comforts and joys of life depend largely upon small 
things. Of these small things, perhaps, none holds a posi- 
tion of greater importance in country life than the adorn- 
ment of the home, indoors and outdoors, with flowers 



Fig. 231. An Easy Way to beautify the Home 

tastefully arranged. Their selection and planting furnish 
pleasant recreation, full of hope and anticipation ; their 
care is a pleasing employment, and each little plant as it 
sprouts, grows, and develops may become as much a pet 
as creatures of the sister animal kingdom. A beautiful 

268 



FLOWER GARDENING 



269 



well-kept yard adds greatly to the pleasure and attractive- 
ness of a country home. If a beautiful yard and home 
give joy to the mere passer-by, how much more must the 
beauty of these appeal to the owners. The decoration of 
the home shows ambition, pride, and energy, — impor- 
tant elements in a 
successful life. 

Plant trees and 
shrubs in your yard 
and border your 
masses of shrubbery 
with flower beds. 
Do not disfigure a 
lawn by placing a 
bed of flowers in it. 
Use the flowers 
rather to decorate 
the shrubbery, and 
for borders along 
walks, and in the 
corners near steps, 
or against founda- 
tions. 

If you wish to 
raise flowers for the 
sake of flowers, not 

as decorations, make the flower beds in the back yard or 
at the side of the house. 

Plants may be grown from seeds or from bulbs or from 
cuttings. The rooting of cuttings is an interesting matter 
to all who are fond of flowers. Those who have no 




Fig. 232. Shall YOUR Little Ones pluck 

Flowers or rattle Tin Cans 

IN YOUR Back Yard? 



270 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



greenhouse and wish to root cuttings of geraniums, roses, 
and other plants may do so in the following way. Take a 
shallow pan, an old-fashioned milk pan for instance, fill it 
nearly full of clean sand, and then wet the sand thoroughly. 
Now stick the cuttings thickly into this wet sand and set 
the pan in a warm sunny window, and always keep it in the 




P"iG. 233. Repotting 



same water-soaked condition. Most cuttings will root well 
in a few weeks and may then be set into small flowerpots. 
Cuttings of tea roses should have two or three joints and 
be taken from a stem that has just made a flower. Allow 
one of the rose leaves to remain at the top of the cutting. 
Stick this cutting into the sand and it will root in about 
four weeks. Cuttings of Cape jessamine may be rooted 



FLOWER GARDENING 



271 



in the same way. Some of the geraniums, such as the 
rose geranium, may be grown from cuttings of the roots. 
Bulbs are simply the lower ends of the leaves of a plant 
wrapped tightly around one another and inclosing the 
bud that makes the future flower stalk. The hyacinth, 
narcissus, and our common garden onion are examples 
of bulbous plants. The 
flat part at the bottom 
of the bulb is the stem of 
the plant reduced to a 
flat disk, and between 
each leaf on this flat 
stem there is a bud just 
as there is above ground 
a bud at the base of a 
leaf. These buds on the 
stem of the bulb rarely 
grow, however, unless 
forced to do so artifi- 
cially. The bulbs may, 
however, be greatly in- 
creased by making these 
buds grow and form 
other bulbs. In increas- 
ing hyacinths, the ma- 
tured bulbs are dug in the spring and the under part of 
this flat stem is carefully scraped away to expose the base 
of the buds. They are then put in heaps and covered with 
sand. In a few weeks all the buds will form little bulbs. 
The gardener plants the whole to grow together one 
season, after which they are separated and grown into 




Fig. 234. A Clematis 
Copyright, 1903, Doubleday, Page & Co. 



2/2 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



full-sized bulbs for sale. Other bulbs, like the narcissus 
or daffodil, form new bulbs that separate without being 
scraped. 

There are some other plants which have underground 
parts that are commonly called bulbs but which are not 
bulbs at all ; for example, the gladiolus and the caladium, 
or elephant's ear. Their underground parts are bulblike 
in shape but are really solid flattened stems with eyes 
like the underground stem of the Irish potato. These 
parts are called conns. They may be cut into pieces like 
the potato and each part will grow. 

The dahlia makes a mass of roots looking greatly like 
sweet potatoes, but there are no eyes on them as there 
are on the sweet potato, the only eyes being on the base 
of the stem to which they are joined. They may be 
sprouted like sweet potatoes and soft cuttings made of 




Fig. 235. Outdoor-Grown Chrysanthemums 
Copyright, 1902, Doubleday, Page & Co. 

the green shoots, after which they may be rooted in the 
greenhouse and then planted in pots. 

There are many perennial plants that will bloom the 
first season when grown from the seed, though such 



FLOWER GARDENING 



273 



seedlings are seldom as good as the plant from which 

they came. They are generally used to originate new 

varieties. Seed of the dahlia, for instance, can be sowed 

in a box in a warm 

room in early 

March, potted as 

soon as the plants 

are large enough to 

handle, and finally 

planted in the 

garden when the 

weather is warm. 

They will bloom 

nearly as soon as 

plants grown by 

dividing the roots 

or from cuttings. 

In growing an- 
nual plants from 
seed, there is little 
difficulty if one 
have a s:reenhouse 




Fig. 236. The Carnation (Eldorado) 
Copyright, 1903, Doubleday, Page & Co. 



or even a hotbed with a glass sash. Even without these, 
the plants may be grown in shallow boxes in a warm room. 
The best boxes are about four inches deep with a bottom 
made of slats nailed a quarter of an inch apart to give 
proper drainage. Some moss is laid over the bottom to 
prevent the soil from sifting through. The boxes should 
then be filled with light, rich soil. Fine black forest 
mold, mixed with one fourth of its bulk of rotten manure, 
and all sifted well together, makes the best soil for filling 



274 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



the seed boxes. If this soil be placed in an oven and 

heated very hot, the heat will destroy many weeds that 

would otherwise give trouble. 
After putting the soil in the 
boxes, it should be well packed 
by pressing it with a flat 
wooden block. Sow the seeds 
in straight rows and put little 
wooden labels with the names 
of the flowers on them at the 
ends of the rows. 

Sow seeds of the same gen- 
eral size in the same box in 
order that they may be prop- 
erly covered, for seeds need to 
be covered according to their 
size. After sowing the seed,, 
sift the fine soil over the sur- 
face of the box. The best 
soil for covering small seeds is 
made by rubbing some dry 
moss along with some of the 
leaf mold through a sieve. 
This makes a light cover that 
will not bake and will retain 
moisture. After covering the 
seeds, press the soil firm and 
smooth with a wooden block. 
Now sprinkle the covering soil 

lightly with a watering pot until it is fairly moistened. 

Then lay some panes of glass over the box to retain the 




Fig. 237. The Poet's 
Narcissus 

Copyright, 1902, Doubleday, 
Page & Co. 



FLOWER GARDENING 



275 



moisture and avoid further watering till absolutely neces- 
sary. Too much watering makes the soil too compact 
and rots the seed. 

As soon as the seedlings have made a second pair of 
leaves, take them up with the point of a knife and trans- 
plant into other boxes filled in the same way. They 
should be set two inches apart so as to give them room 
to grow strong. They may be transplanted from the 
boxes to the flower garden by taking an old knife blade 
and cutting the 
earth into squares 
and then lifting 
the entire square 
with the plant 
and setting it 
where it is wanted. 

There are many 
flower seeds which 
■are so small that 
they must not be 
covered at all. In 
this class we find 
begonias, petunias, 
and Chinese primroses. To sow these, we prepare boxes 
as for the other seeds, and press the earth smooth. Then 
scatter some fine, dry moss thinly over the surface of the 
soil. Sprinkle this with water until it is well moistened, 
and at once scatter the seeds thinly over the surface and 
cover with panes of glass until the seeds germinate. 
Transplant as soon as the young plants can be lifted out 
separately on the blade of a penknife. 




P'iG. 23S. A Cyclamen 
Copyright, 1903, Doubleday, Page & Co. 



2'j6 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Many flower seeds may be sowed directly in the open 
ground where they are to remain. The sweet pea is one 
of the most popular flowers grown in this way. The seeds 
should be sowed rather thickly in rows and covered fully 
four inches deep. The sowing should be varied in time 

according to the 
climate. From 
North Carolina 
southward, sweet 
peas may be sowed 
in the fall or in 
January, as they 
are very hardy and 
should be gotten 
into bloom before 
the weather gets 
hot. Late spring 
sowing will not 
give fine flowers in 
the South. From 
North Carolina 
northward, the 
Fig. 239. Dahlias ^^^^^ should be 

Copyright, 1903, Doubleday, Page & Co. ^^^^^ j USt aS early 

in the spring as the ground can be worked easily. When 
the plants appear, stakes should be set along the rows and 
a strip of woven-wire fence stretched for the plants to 
climb on. Morning-glory seeds are also sowed where they 
are to grow. The seeds of the moon-flower are large and 
hard and will fail to grow unless they are slightly cut ; 
that is, make a slight cut just through the hard outer 




FLOWER GARDENING 



277 



coat of the seed so as to expose the white inside. In 
this way they will grow very readily. The seeds of the 
canna, or Indian shot plant, are treated in a similar 
way to induce them 
to grow. 

The canna makes 
large fleshy roots, 
which in the North 
are taken up, covered 
with damp moss, and 
stored under the 
benches of the green- 
house or in a cellar. 
If allowed to get too 
dry, they will wither. 
From central North 
Carolina south, it is 
best to leave them in 
the ground where 
they grew and cover 
them thickly with 
dead leaves. In the 
early spring, take 
them up and divide 
for reolantin"" Fig. 240. A Modern Sweet Pea 

Perennial plants. Copyright, 1904, Doubleday, Page & Co. 

like our flowering shrubs, are grown from cuttings of the 
ripe wood after the leaves have fallen in autumn. From 
North Carolina southward, these cuttings should be set in 
rows in the fall. Cuttings ten inches long are set so that 
the tops are just even with the ground. A light cover of 




27^ 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



pine leaves will prevent damage from frost. Further 
north the cuttings should be tied in bundles and buried 
well in the ground and earth piled over them. In the 
spring, set them in rows for rooting. In the South, all the 




Fig. 241. FouKo'cLocKS set in a Good Place 
Copyright, 1904, Doubleday, Page & Co. 

hardy hybrid perpetual roses can be grown in this way, 
and in any section the cuttings of most of the spring 
flowering shrubs will grow in the same manner. The 
Japanese quince, which makes such a show of its scarlet 
flowers in early spring, can be best grown from cuttings 
about three inches long made of the roots and planted in 
rows in the fall. 

Many of our ornamental evergreen trees, such as the 
arbor vitae, can be grown in the spring from se6<3s sowed in 



FLOWER GARDENING 



279 



a frame. Cotton cloth should be stretched over the trees 
while they are young to prevent the sun from scorching 
them. When a year old they may be set in nursery rows 
to develop until they are large enough to plant. Arbor 
vitae may also be grown from cuttings made of the young 
tips set in boxes of sand in the fall and kept warm and 
moist. Most of them will be rooted by spring. 

The kinds of flowers that you can grow are almost count- 
less. You can hardly make a mistake, however, as all are 
interesting. Start this year with a few and gradually increase 




Fig. 242. A Winduw Box 



the number under your care year by year, aiming always to 

make your plants the most choice and perfect of their kind. 

Of annuals there are over four hundred kinds cultivated. 

You may select from the following list : phlox, petunias. 



28o 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



China asters, California poppies, sweet peas, pinks, double 
and single sunflowers, hibiscus, candytuft, balsams, morn- 
ing-glories, stocks, nasturtiums, verbenas, mignonette. 

Of perennials select bleeding hearts, pinks, bluebells, 
hollyhocks, perennial phlox or hibiscus, wild asters, and 
golden-rods. From bulbs choose crocus, tulip, daffodil, 

narcissus, lily of the valley, 
lily. 

Some climbers are cobsea, 
honeysuckle, Virginia 
creeper, English ivy, Boston 
ivy, cypress vine, hyacinth 
bean, climbing nasturtiums, 
and roses. 

To make your plants do 
best, cultivate them care- 
^ fully. Allow no weeds to 
grow among them and do 
not let the surface of the 
soil dry into a hard crust. 
Beware, however, of stirring 
the soil too deep. Loosen- 
ing the soil about the roots interrupts the feeding of the 
plant and does harm. Climbing plants may be trained to 
advantage on low woven-wire fences. These are especially 
serviceable for sweet peas and climbing nasturtiums. Do 
not let the plants go to seed, since seeding is a heavy 
drain on nourishment. Moreover, the plant has served 
its end when it makes seed and is ready then to stop 
blossoming. You should therefore pick off the old flowers 
to prevent their developing seeds. This will cause many 




Fig. 243. A Window Garden 



FLOWER GARDENING 



2«I 




Fig. 244. An Inside Window Box in its 
Full Glory 



plants, which would otherwise stop blossoming soon, to 
continue bearing flowers for a longer period. 

Window Garden- 
ing. Growing 
plants indoors in 
the window pos- 
sesses many of 
the attractions 
of outdoor flower 
gardening, and 
affords means of 
beautifying the 
room at very 
small expense. 
Especially do window gardens afford delight during the 
barren winter time. They are a source of culture and 
pleasure to thousands who cannot afford extended and 
expensive orna- 
mentation. 

The window 
garden may vary 
in size from an 
eggshell holding 
a minute plant to 
boxes filling all 
available space 
about the win- 
dow. The soil 
may be in pots for 
individual plants or groups of plants or in boxes for collec- 
tions of plants. You may raise your flowers inside of the 




Fig. 245. Making the Outside of a 
Window Bloom 



282 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



window on shelves or stands, or shelves may be built 
outside of the window and inclosed in glazed sashes. 
The accompanying illustration gives an idea of such' an 
external window garden. 

The soil must be rich and loose. The best contains 
some undecayed organic matter such as leaf mold or partly 




Fig. 246. Ferns for Both Indoors and Outdoors 
Permission of Delineator 

decayed sods and some sand. Raise your plants from bulbs, 
cuttings, or seed just as in outdoor gardens. Some plants 
do better in cool rooms, others in warmer temperature. 

If the temperature ranges from 35° to 70°, averaging 
about 55°, azaleas, daisies, carnations, candytuft, alyssum, 
dusty miller, chrysanthemums, cinerarias, camellias, daph- 
nes, geraniums, petunias, violets, primroses, and verbenas 
do best. 



FLOWER GARDENING 283 

If the temperature is from 50° to 90°, averaging 70°, 
try abutilon, begonia, bouvardia, caladium, canna, Cape 
jessamine, coleus, fuchsia, gloxinia, heliotrope, lantana, 
lobelia, roses, and smilax. 

In the shade raise begonias, camellias, ferns, and Aspar- 
agus Sprengeri. 

When the soil is dry, water it ; then apply no more 
water until it again becomes dry. Beware of too much 
water. The plants should be washed occasionally with 
soapsuds and then rinsed. If red spiders are present, 
sponge them off with water as hot as can be borne com- 
fortably by the hand. Newspapers afford a good means 
of keeping off the cold. 



SECTION LVI — FORAGE 

Grasses. Under usual conditions no farmer expects to 
grow live stock successfully and economically without 
setting apart a large part of his land for the growth of 
mowing and pasture crops. Therefore to the grower of 
stock the management of grass crops is all important. 

In planting either for a meadow or for a pasture, the 
farmer should mix different varieties of grass seeds. 
Nature mixes them when she plants, and Nature is 
always a trustworthy teacher. 

In planting for a pasture, the aim should be to sow 
such seeds as will give green grass from early spring to 
latest fall. In seeding for a meadow, such varieties should 
be sowed together as ripen about the same time. 

Even in those sections of the country where it grows 
sparingly, and where it is easily crowded out, red clover 
should be mixed with all grasses sowed, for it leaves in 
the soil a wealth of plant food for the grasses coming 
after it to feed on. Nearly every part of our country has 
some clover that experience shows to be exactly suited to 
its soil and climate. Study these clovers carefully and mix 
them with your grass seed. 

The reason for mixing clover and grass is at once seen. 
The true grasses, so far as science now shows, get all 
their nitrogen from the soil ; hence they more or less 
exhaust the soil. But, as several times explained in this 

284 



FORAGE 



285 



book, the clovers are legumes, and all legumes are able 
by means of the bacteria that live on their roots to use the 
free nitrogen of the air. Hence without cost to the farmer 
these clovers help the soil to feed their neighbors, the 
true grasses. For this reason then some light perennial 
legume should 
always be added 
to grass seed. 

It is not pos- 
sible for grasses 
to do well in a 
soil that is full of 
weeds. For this 
reason it is always 
best to plant grass 
in fields from 
which cultivated 
crops have just 
been taken. The 
soil in which grass 
is to be planted 
should have its 
particles pressed 
together. The 
small grass seeds 
cannot take root 




Fig. 247. Single Plant of "Giant Millet" 

From original furnished by United States Department 
of Agriculture, Division of Agrostology 



and grow well in land that has just been plowed and which, 
consequently, has its particles loose and comparatively far 
apart. On the other hand, land from which a crop of corn 
or cotton has just been harvested is in a compact condition. 
The soil particles are pressed well together. Such land 



286 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

when mellowed by harrowing makes a splendid bed for 
grass seeds. A firm soil draws moisture up to the seeds, 
while a mellow soil acts as a blanket to keep moisture 
from wasting into the air, and at the same time allows the 
heated air to circulate in the soil. 

In case land has to be plowed for grass seeding, the 
plowing should be done as far as possible in advance of 
the seeding. Then the plowed land should be harrowed 
several times to get the land in a soft, mellow condition. 

If the seed bed be carefully prepared, little work on 
the ground is necessary after the seeds are sowed. One 
light harrowing is sufficient to cover the broadcast seeds. 
This harrowing should always be done as soon as the seeds 
are scattered, for, if there be moisture in the soil, the tiny 
seeds will soon sprout, and if the harrowing be done after 
germination is somewhat advanced, the tender grass plants 
will be injured. 

There are many kinds of pasture and meadow grasses. 
In New England, timothy, red clover, and redtop are gen- 
erally used for the mowing crop. For permanent pasture, 
in addition to those mentioned, there should be added 
white clover and either Kentucky or Canadian blue grass. 
In the Southern States, a good meadow or pasture can 
be made of orchard grass, red clover, and hairy vetch. 
For a permanent pasture in the South, Japan clover, Ber- 
muda, and such other local grasses as have been found 
to adapt themselves readily to the climate should be 
added. In the Middle States, temporary meadows and 
pastures are generally made of timothy and red clover, 
while for permanent pastures white clover and blue grass 
thrive well. In the more western states, the grasses 




s *J 



w c 



287 



288 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

previously suggested are readily at home. Alfalfa is prov- 
ing its adaptability to nearly all sections and climates, 
and is in many respects the most promising grass crop 
of America. 

It hardly ever pays to pasture meadows, except slightly, 
the first season, and then only when the soil is dry. It is 
also poor policy to pasture any kind of grass land early in 
the spring when the soil is wet. The tramping of animals 
crushes and destroys the crowns of the plants. After the 
first year, the sward becomes thicker and tougher, and the 
injury is slight. 

The state of maturity at which grass should be har- 
vested to make hay of the best quality varies somewhat 
with the different grasses and with the use which is to 
be made of the hay. Generally speaking, it is a good 
rule to cut grass for hay just as it is beginning to bloom 
or just after the bloom has fallen. All grasses become 
less palatable to stock as they mature and form seed. If 
grass be allowed to go to seed, most of the nutrition 
in the stalk is used to form the seed. Hence a good 
deal of food is lost by waiting to cut hay until the seeds 
are formed. 

Pasture lands and meadow lands are often greatly 
improved by replowing and harrowing in order to break 
up the turf that forms and to admit air more freely into 
the soil. The plant roots that are destroyed by the 
plowing or harrowing make quickly available plant food by 
their decay, and the physical improvement of the soil leads 
to a thicker and better stand. In the older sections of 
the country, commercial fertilizer can be used to advantage 
in producing hay and pasturage. If, however, clover has 




289 



290 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



just been grown on grass land or if it is growing well 
with the grass, there is no need to add nitrogen. If the 
grass seem to lack sufficient nourishment, add phosphoric 
acid and potash. Grass, however, not grown in company 
with clover, often needs dried blood, nitrate of soda, or 
some other nitrogen-supplying agent. Of course it is 




Fig. 250. A Late Fall Pasture 
Copyright, 1902, Doubleday, Page & Co. 

understood that no better fertilizer can be applied to 
grass than barnyard manure. 

Alfalfa. Alfalfa is primarily a hay crop. It thrives in 
the far West, in the middle West, in the North, and in the 
South. In fact, it will do well wherever the soil is rich, 
moist, deep, and underlaid by an open subsoil. The vast 
areas given to this valuable crop are yearly growing in 
every section of the United States. Alfalfa, however, 
unlike the cowpea, does not take to poor land. For its 




291 



292 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



cultivation, therefore, good fertile land that is moist but 

not water-soaked should be selected. 

Good farmers are partial to alfalfa for three reasons. 

First, it yields a heavy crop of forage or hay. Second, 

being a legume, it improves the soil. Third, one seeding 

lasts a long time. 
This permanency 
may, however, be 
destroyed by pas- 
turing or abusing 
the alfalfa fields. 

This plant dif- 
fers from most 
plants in one re- 
spect. The soil in 
which it grows 
must have certain 
kinds of bacteria 
in it. These cause 
the growth of 
tubercles on the 
roots. However, 




Fig. 252. 



Sheep fattening on Alfalfa 
Stubble 



Copyright, 1903, Doubleday, Page & Co. 



these bacteria are not always present in land that has not 
been planted in alfalfa. Hence if this plant is to be 
grown successfully, these helpful bacteria must sometimes 
be supplied artificially. 

There are four very easy ways of supplying the germs. 
First, dust or soil taken from a field in which alfalfa has 
been grown may be scattered over the seeds to be used. 
The germs in the soil will go into the ground with the 
seeds and multiply when needed. Second, fine soil from 



FORAGE 



293 



an alfalfa field may be scattered broadcast over the fields 
to be seeded. Third, the alfalfa seed may be soaked in 
water containing soil from an alfalfa field. The germs 
will stick to the seeds. Fourth, the latest way is to put a 
small mass of alfalfa germs into a liquid containing proper 
food to make these germs multiply and grow. Then the 
seeds to be planted are soaked in this liquid in order that 
the germs may fasten on the seeds. 

Before the seeds are sowed the soil should be made fine 
and mellow. Over this well-prepared land, from twenty to 








'^- >' 



Fig. 253. Herd of Dairy Cattle grazing on Alfalfa Stubble 
Copyright, 1903, Doubleday, Page & Co. 

thirty pounds of seed to the acre should be scattered. The 
seed may be scattered by hand or by a seed sower. Cover 
with a light harrow. The time of planting varies some- 
what with the climate. In the South, the seed may be 
sowed either in the spring or in the fall ; in the North, 
fall sowing is best. 

During the first season, several mowings are necessary 
to insure a good stand and also to keep down the weeds. 



294 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

When the first blossoms appear in the early summer, it is 
time to start the mower. After this the alfalfa should be 
cut every two, three, or four weeks. The number of times 
depends on the rapidity of growth. 

This crop rarely makes a good yield the first year ; but 
if a good stand be secured that year, the yield steadily 
increases. After a good stand has been secured, a top 
dressing of either commercial fertilizer or stable manure 
will be very helpful. An occasional cutting up of the 
alfalfa sod with a disk harrow does much good. 

Clovers. The different kinds of clovers will sometimes 
grow on hard or poor soil, but they do far better if the 
soil is enriched and properly prepared before the seed is 
sowed. In many parts of our country, it has been the prac- 
tice for generations to sow clover seed with some of the 
grain crops. Barley, wheat, oats, and rye are the crops with 
which clover is most usually planted, but many good far- 
mers now prefer to sow the seed only with other grass seed. 
Circumstances must largely settle the manner of seeding. 

Crimson clover, which is a winter legume, usually does 
best when seeded alone, although rye or some other grain 
often seems helpful to it. This kind of clover is an excel- 
lent crop with which to follow cotton or corn. It is most 
conveniently sowed at the last cultivation of these crops. 

Common red clover, which is the standard clover over 
most of the country, is usually seeded with timothy or 
orchard grass or some other of the grasses. In sowing 
both crimson and red clover, about ten pounds of seed 
for each acre are used. 

To make good pastures, white and Japan clover are favor- 
ites. White clover does well in most parts of America and 




Fig. 254. Crimson Clover 

From original furnished by United States Department of Agriculture, 
Division of Agrostology 

29s 



296 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Japan clover is especially valuable in warm Southern cli- 
mates. Both will do well even when the soil is partly 
shaded, but they do best in land fully open to the sun. 
Careful attention is required to cure clover hay well. 
The clover should always be cut before it forms seed. The 
best time to cut is when the plants are in full bloom. 




Fig. 255. Chinese Soy Bean 

From original furnished by United States Department of Agriculture, 
Division of Agrostology 

Let the mower be started in the morning. Then a few 
hours later run over with the tedder. This will loosen 
the hay and let in air and sunshine. If the weather be 
fair, let the hay lie until the next day, and then rake it 
into rows for further drying. After raking, the hay may 
either be left in the rows for final curing or it may be put 
in cocks. If the weather be unsettled, it is best to cock 



FORAGE 



297 



the hay Many farmers have cloth covers to protect the 
cocks and these often aid very greatly in saving the hay 
crop in a rainy season. In case the hay is put in cocks^ 
it should be opened for a final drying before it is housed. 



Descriptive Table 



Crop 


Adaptation as 
Food for Animals 


Life 


Remarks 


Alfalfa 


Hay* 


Perennial 


All animals like it ; hogs 
eat it even when it is d ry. 


Red clover 


Hay and pasture 


Perennial 


Best of the clovers for hay. 


Alsike clover 


Hay and pasture 


Perennial 


Seeds itself for twenty 
years. This clover is a. 
great favorite with bees. 


Mammoth clover 


Hay and pasture 


Perennial 


Best for green manure. 


White clover 


Pasture 


Perennial 


Splendid for lawns and 
bees. 


Japan clover 


Pasture 


Perennial 


Excellent for forest and 
old soils. 



* Alfalfa is a splendid pasture crop, but much pasturing is injurious to it. 



SECTION LVII— THE COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL 



The United States produce about sixty per cent of 
the world's supply of cotton. The state of Texas has for 
years grown about one third of this amount. Cotton 
alone yields annually to that great state over one hun- 
dred million dollars. Therefore anything that lessens or 

destroys this yield is a mat- 
ter of serious concern not 
only to Texas but also to 
the whole country. 

Recently an insect that 
gravely threatens the loss 
of this entire crop has 
made its appearance in the 
fields of Texas. This insect 
is the boll weevil. For the 
past few years this insect 
has annually destroyed for 
the growers of Texas an 
amount of cotton worth ten 
million dollars. Including 
the loss inflicted upon ginners, manufacturers, and other 
allied industries, the total loss has probably amounted to 
one hundred million dollars. 

So far as known, this insect, whose native home is the 
tropics, made its first serious appearance in Mexico. In 

298 




Fig. 256. Adult Weevil 
(Enlarged) 

After Sanderson, Bulletin of Texas 
Experiment Station 



THE COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL 



299 



1 89 1 and 1892 the boll weevil crossed the Rio Grande 
River in the neighborhood of Matamoros and settled in 

the cotton fields around Browns- 
ville, Texas. As this was not a 
great cotton-growing section, the 
insect caused little alarm at first. 
But gradually it has widened its 
destructive 
area until 
now it has 
invaded 
practically 
the whole 
cotton- 
growing 
part of 
Texas, and 
in at least 
two in- 
stances has 
crossed 
into Louis- 




FiG. 257. Eggs among the 
Anthers of a Square 
AT Point indicated by 
THE Arrow 

After Sanderson, Bulletin of 
Texas Experiment Station 




iana and is also threatening the In- 
dian Territory, and indeed the whole 
cotton belt of the South. Its rate of 
spread toward the North and East 
has been from fifty to seventy-five 
miles each year. 

This insect which has struck ter- 
ror into the hearts of thousands of 
itself a trifling-looking little creature 



Fig. 258. Cross - Section 
showing Anthers of 
A Square with Egg of 
Weevil, and showing 
the Hole where the 
Egg was deposited. 
(Greatly enlarged) 

After Sanderson, Bulletin of 
Texas Exf)eriment Station 

cotton growers is in 
It is a small, gray. 



300 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



or reddish-brown snout beetle, hardly over a quarter of 
an inch in length. In proportion to its length it has a 
long beak. It belongs to a family of beetles which breed 
in pods, in seeds, and in stalks of plants. It feeds only 
upon the cotton plant. 

To understand how this beetle injures cotton and also to 
understand the methods of trying to destroy the insect, 

we must know the life of 
the beetle. Let us follow it 
through a year. The grown 
weevils try to outlive the 
cold of winter by hiding 
snugly away under grass 
clumps, cotton stalks, rub- 
bish, or under the bark of 
trees. Sometimes they go 
down into holes in the 
ground. A comfortable 
shelter is often found in 
the forests near the cotton 
fields. The weevils can 
stand a good deal of cold, 
but fortunately thousands 
and thousands are killed 
each year by exposure. 
Moreover birds, always the 
friends of the farmer, destroy many ; hence by spring 
the last year's crop is greatly reduced in number. 

In the spring, generally about the time cotton begins to 
form " squares," the surviving weevils shake off their long 
winter sleep and enter the cotton fields with appetites as 




Fig. 259. The Pupa of the Cotton- 
Boll Weevil INJURING A Square 

After an original furnished by United 
States Department of Agriculture 



THE COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL 



301 




sharp as razors. Then shortly the females begin to lay- 
eggs. At first, these eggs are laid only in the cotton 

squares, and generally only 
one to the square. By and 
by, when the unused 
squares become scarce, 
eggs are deposited in the 
bolls. Sometimes two or 
three eggs are laid in each 
boll. The mother beetle 
with her snout eats a hole 
Fig. 260. Pupa from above and into the boll, pushes the 
BELOW. (Greatly enlarged) gggg jn^ ^nd then stopS the 

After Sanderson, Bulletin of Texas ^qIc with the picceS eaten 

Experiment Station _,, . . - , , 

out. 1 he juice of the plant 
glues in the loose pieces and soon a warty-looking spot 
marks the place of the egg. The young grub hatches 
in two or three days 
from the egg. In its 
entirely protected home, 
the newly hatched grub 
eats the square and it 
soon falls to the ground. 
Entire fields may at 
times be seen without 
a single square on the 
cotton plants. 

In from one to two 
weeks, the grub or larva F1G.261. The Larva of Cotton-Boli. 
, r n Weevil in a Square 
becomes fully grown ,, ^ 

^ ° After an original furnished by United States 

and transforms to the Department of Agriculture 




^Id 



302 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



pupa state without changing its home. Then in about a 
week more the pupae come out as adult weevils and attack 
the bolls. They puncture them with their snouts and lay 
their eggs in the bolls. The young grubs, this time hatch- 
ing out in the boll, remain there until grown, when they 
emerge through holes that they make. These holes allow 

dampness to enter and 
destroy the bolls. This 
life round continues until 
cold weather drives the 
insect to winter quarters. 
By that time they have 
increased so rapidly that 
there is often one for 
every boll in the field. 

This weevil is proving 
very hard to destroy. 
Many plant pests when 
they are grown or when 
they are in the larva state 
can be killed by the appli- 
cation of poisons. But as 
the grown weevil is a 
tough, hard-shelled insect, 
neither internal nor exter- 
Moreover, as the larvae live 
in the cotton boll, poison cannot reach them ; hence it 
seems that no poison can be relied upon to exterminate 
this pest. Machines for knocking the weevil from the 
boll and for collecting and destroying weevil-filled bolls 
have been tried, but so far have either failed or proved 




Fig. 262. A Cotton Boll with 
Feeding Holes of Weevil, 
and bearing three speci- 
MENS OF THE Insect 

After an original furnished by United 
States Department of Agriculture 

nal poisons seem to affect it. 



THE COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL 



303 




too expensive. At present there seem but few ways to 
fight the weevil. One is to grow cotton that will mature 
too early for the weevils to do 
it much harm. Another is to 
destroy the weevil as far as pos- 
sible during the winter. In adopt- 
ing the first plan Texas farmers 
have found that by the proper 
and careful selection of seed, by 
early planting, by a free use of 
fertilizers containing a high per- 
centage of phosphoric acid, and 
by frequent plowing, they can 
mature a crop thirty days earlier and thus defeat the weevil. 
In addition the rows are put farther apart. This allows the 
sun to reach the stalks better and the weevil greatly dislikes 
sunshine. In this way a good crop can be harvested by Oc- 
tober. This is before the army of weevils has reached its 
greatest number. Cotton may be improved by methods of 
seed selection and breeding as suggested in Section XVIII. 



Fig. 263. The Mexican 
Cotton-Boll Weevil, 
SHOWING Structure 




Fig. 264. 



A Series of Weevils, showing Variations 
in Size when Full Grown 



These methods applied to Texas cotton produce the most 
satisfactory results as to the grade of the staple, the yield 
per acre, and early maturing. 



304 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



The places best adapted to the hibernation of the weevil 
are trash piles, rubbish, driftwood, rotten wood, weeds, moss 
on trees, etc. A further help, therefore, in destroying the 
weevil is to cut down and burn all cotton stalks as soon as 
these crops are harvested. This destroys countless num- 
bers of larvae and pupae in the bolls and greatly reduces 
the number of weevils. In addition, all cornstalks, all trash, 
all large clumps of grass in neighboring fields, should be 
burned, for these, too, furnish winter homes for the weevil. 



"" ""\ ILL. iiKD i <>iiio/ ■;>-"■ 

MO. \ J / '--;--XN'.VAr'' VAi 



\ ^ 


mm 




_; 


^ 


•J 




v.'-X 




G 


U L F 





F 


\ 


M 


E X I 


c 





\ 




1894 — Umit of InteBted Area 

1904 — • 

1906 — ■ 

1906 — " " 

1907 — " 

1908 — " " 

1909 — " " •• " 

1910 — " " '• " 


in 1894 
" 1904 
" 1905 
" 190« 
" 1907 
" 1B08 
'' 1909 
" 1910 





Fig. 265. Map showing Distribution of Cotton-Boll Weevil 

IN 1910 



SECTION LVIII — FARMING ON DRY LANDS 

Almost in the center of the western half of our continent 
there is a vast area in which very httle rain falls. This 
section includes nearly three hundred million acres of land. 
It stretches from Canada on the north into Texas on the 
south, and from the Missouri River (including the Dakotas 
and western Minnesota) on the east to the Rocky Moun- 
tains on the west. In this great area farming has to be 
done with little water. This sort of farming is therefore 
called "dry farming." 

The soil in this section is as a rule very fertile. There- 
fore the difference between farming in this dry belt and 
farming in most of the other sections of our country is a 
difference mainly due to a lack of moisture. 

As water is so scarce in this region two things are of the 
utmost importance : first, to save all the rain as it falls ; 
second, to save all the water after it has fallen. First, to 
save the rain as it falls, it is necessary for the ground to 
be in such condition that none of the much-needed rain 
may run off. Every drop should go into the soil. Hence 
the farmer should never allow his top soil to harden into 
a crust. Such a crust will keep the rain from sinking 
into the thirsty soil. Moreover the soil should be deeply 
plowed. The deeper the soil the more water it can hold. 
The land should also be kept as porous as possible, for 
water enters a porous soil freely. The addition of humus 

305 



3o6 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



in the form of vegetable manures will keep the soil in the 
porous condition needed. 

Second, after the water has entered the soil, it is equally 
important to hold it there so that it may supply the grow- 
ing crops. If the land is allowed to remain untilled after a 
rain or during a hot spell, the water in it will evaporate too 
rapidly and thus the well will go dry too soon. To prevent 




Fig. 266. The Disk Harrow 



this the top soil should be stirred very frequently with a 
disk or smoothing harrow. This stirring will form a mulch 
of dry soil on the surface, and this will hold the water. 
Other forms of mulch have been suggested, but the soil 
mulch is the only practicable one. It must be borne in 
mind that this surface cultivation must be regularly kept 
up if the moisture is to be retained. 

Some experiments in wheat growing have shown how 
readily water might be saved if plowing was done at the 



FARMING ON DRY LANDS 3<^7 

right time. Wheat sown on land that was plowed as soon 
as the summer crops were taken off yielded a very much 
larger return than wheat sown on land that remained un- 
tilled for some time after the summer crops were gathered. 
This difference in yield on lands of the same fertility was 
due to the fact that the early plowing enabled the land to 
take up a sufficient quantity of moisture. 

In addition to a vigilant catching and saving of water, 
the farmer in these dry climates must give his land the 
same careful attention that lands in other regions need. 
The seed bed should be most carefully prepared. It should 
be deep, porous, and excellent in tilth. During the growing 
season all crops should be frequently cultivated. The har- 
row, the cultivator, and the plow should be kept busy. The 
soil should be kept abundantly supplied with humus. 

Some crops need a little different management in dry 
farming. Corn, for example, does best when it is listed ; 
that is, planted so that it will come up three or four inches 
beneath the surface. If planted in this way, it roots better, 
stands up better, and requires less work. 

Just as breeders study what animals are best for their 
climates, so farmers in the dry belt should study what 
crops are best suited to their lands. Some crops, like the 
sorghums and kaffir corn, are peculiarly at home in scantily 
watered lands. Others do not thrive. Experience is the 
only sure guide to the proper selection. 

To sum up, then, farmers can grow good crops in these 
lands only when four things are done : first, the land must 
be thoroughly tilled so that water can freely enter the soil ; 
second, the land must be frequently cultivated so that the 
water will be kept in the soil ; third, the crops must be 



3o8 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



properly rotated so as to use to best advantage the food 
and water supply ; fourth, humus must be freely supplied 
so as to keep the soil in the best possible condition. 









Fig. 267. Red Kaffir Corn in Shock 



SECTION LIX — IRRIGATION 

Irrigation is the name given to the plan of supplying 
water in large quantities to growing crops. Since the dawn 
of history this practice has been more or less followed in 
Asia, in Africa, and in Europe. The Spanish settlers in the 
southwestern part of America were probably the first to 




Fig. 268. Pumping Water for Irrigation 



introduce this custom into our country. In New Mexico 
there is an irrigating trench that has been in constant use 
for three hundred years. 

The most common source of water for irrigating purposes 
is a river or a smaller stream. Artesian wells are used in 
some parts of the country. Windmills are sometimes used 

309 



3IO AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

when only a small supply of water is needed. Engines, 
hydraulic rams, and water wheels are also employed. The 
water wheel is one of the oldest and one of the most useful 
methods of raising water from streams. There are thousands 
of these in use in the dry regions of the West. Small 
buckets are fastened to a large wheel which is turned by 
the current of a stream. As the wheel turns, the buckets 




Fig. 269. The Main Ditch of an Irrigation Plant 

are filled, raised, and then emptied into a trough, called a 
flume. The water flows through the flume into the irri- 
gating ditches leading into the fields. In some parts of 
California wells are sunk in or near the beds of under- 
ground streams, and then the water is pumped into ditches 
which carry it into the fields to be irrigated. 

Engines are often used for pumping water from streams 
and transferring it to ditches or canals. The canals dis- 
tribute the water over the land or over the growing crops. 



IRRIGATION 



311 



None of these methods, however, can be used for water- 
ing very large areas of land. Hence as the value of farm 
lands increased newer methods were sought. Shrewd man 
began to turn longing eyes on the wide stretches of barren 
land in the West. These waste lands, seemingly so unfertile, 
become most fruitful as soon as water is turned on them. 
Could water enough be found ? New plans to pen up floods 




Fig. 270. The Process of Irrigating Corn 

of water were prepared, and already over two hundred million 
dollars have been spent in carrying out these plans. Enor- 
mous dams of cemented stone were thrown across the gorges 
in the foothills of the mountains. Behind these solid dams 
the water from the rains and the melting snow of the moun- 
tains was backed for miles, and was at once ready to change 
barrenness into fruitfulness. The stored water is led by 
means of main canals and cross ditches wherever it is needed, 
and countless acres have been brought under cultivation. 



312 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Water is generally applied either by making furrows for 
its passage through the fields or by flooding the land. The 
latter plan is the cheaper, but it can be used only on very 
level lands-. Where the land is somewhat irregular a check- 
ing system, as it is called, is used to distribute the water. 
It is taken from check to check until the entire field has 
been irrigated. 

The furrow method is usually employed for fruits and 
for farm and garden crops. In many places the grass and 
grain crops are now supplied with water by furrows instead 
of by flooding. 

Irrigated lands should be carefully and thoroughly tilled. 
The water for irrigation is costly, and should be made to go 
as far as possible. Good tillage saves the water. Moreover 
all cultivated crops like corn, potatoes, and orchard and 
truck crops ought to be cultivated frequently to save the 
moisture, to keep the soil in fit condition, and to aid the 
bacteria in the soil. It was a wise farmer who said, " One 
does not need to grow crops many years in order to learn 
that nothing can take the place of stirring the soil." 



Methods of Irrigating Crops 

Tree fruits. Water is conducted through very narrow 
furrows from three to five feet apart, and allowed to sink 
about four feet deep, and to spread under the ground. 
Then the supply is cut off. The object is to wet the soil 
deeply, and then by tillage to hold the moisture in the soil. 

Small fruits. The common practice is to run water on 
each side of the row until the rows are soaked. 



IRRIGATION 313 

Potatoes. A thorough soaking of the land before plant- 
ing, and then no more than is absolutely necessary until 
blossoming time. After the blossoms appear keep the soil 
moist until the crop ripens. 

Garden crops. Any method may be employed, but the 
vital point is to cultivate the ground as early as it can be 
worked after being irrigated. 

Meadozvs and alfalfa. Flooding is the most common 
method in use. The first irrigation comes early in the 
spring before growth has much advanced, and then after 
a crop has been harvested. 



SECTION LX — SUGAR CANE 

By W. C. Stubbs 

Director of Louisiana Sugar Experiment Station 

Sugar cane was introduced into Louisiana by the Jesuits 
in 1757, began to be extensively cultivated in 1795, and 
since that time it has been the chief crop of south Louisi- 
ana. It is cultivated along the entire Gulf and South 
Atlantic coasts. In Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, 
South Carolina, north Louisiana, and north Texas it is 
manufactured into syrup, while in south Louisiana and 
south Texas it is converted into sugar and molasses. 

Description of Sugar Cane. Sugar cane is a gigantic 
grass with fibrous roots which reach laterally in every direc- 
tion. The stalk is a cylinder, varying in diameter from 
one to two inches, with nodes and internodes (joints), the 
latter varying in length from two to even six inches. 
These stalks vary greatly in color, running through white, 
yellow, green, red, purple, black, and even striped with two 
or more of these colors. The leaves, grown on alternate 
sides of the stalk, are clasping at first, but gradually ripen 
and fall off as the cane matures. In some varieties the 
lower part of the leaves (sheaths) is covered with minute 
prickles, which sometimes painfully wound the hands of 
the cane cutters. The joints mature from the roots up, and 
as each ripens it casts its leaf ; the stalk when ready for 

314 



SUGAR CANE 



315 




Fig. 271. Stalk of Sugar Cane 

A-B, joints of cane showing roots ; B-C, stem ; 

C-D, leaves 



the harvest has a few 
leaves at the top only. 
Under each leaf and 
on alternate sides of 
the cane is a bud or 
" eye " from which 
the cane is usually 
propagated. A close 
examination of the 
"eye" will reveal 
rows of "dots," each 
marking the place 
from which a root 
will sprout when the 
cane is placed in a 
moist soil. 

In tropical coun- 
tries the sugar cane 
at maturity some- 
times " flowers " or 
"tassels." These 
tassels are clusters 
of silken spikes on 
large stems, resem- 
bling very much a 
plume of pampas 
grass. Very few of 
the seeds produced 
are fertile. This is 
due doubtless to the 
fact that the cane 



3i6 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 




it 



has been so long propagated from cuttings (" eyes") that 
the flowers have lost vigor. The sugar is found in solu- 
tion in the large pith cells of 
the cane. At maturity the cane, 
after being stripped of leaves 
and topped, is cut at the ground 
with a cane knife or machete. 

Where grown. Formerly it 
was thought that sugar cane 
could be grown only in tropical 
islands, but it has now been 
shown that 
where be- 
tween 30° 
and 35° north 
or south of 
the equa- 
tor, where suitable soil and an abun- 
dant water supply (either by rainfall 
or irrigation) can be obtained. Actual 
cultivation now extends from Spain, 
37° north, to New Zealand, 37° south, 
on both sides of the equator. 

Cane requires an enormous amount 
of water for its best development, and 
where the rainfall is deficient, irriga- 
tion is practiced — often with wonder- 
ful results, as in Hawaii, where upon 
one estate over eleven tons of sugar ^, buds or eyes; 5, joint; 
an acre have been produced. It c.nodes; Aintemodes 

or joints ; X, semitrans- 

has been found in practice that from parent dots in rows. 



Fig. 272. Cross Section of 
Cane magnified about 
200 Times 

/*, pith cells ; V, vessels ; S, sieve 
tubes 



will grow any- 



D 



X-- 



D 



D 



A- 

FiG. 273. Stick of 
Sugar Cane 



SUGAR CANE 



317 



seventy-five to one hundred and one gallons of water are 
required to make a pound of sugar, and that a rainfall 
of two inches every week during the cane's growth will 
produce the largest yields of cane. While this crop 
requires an abundance of water, it is also true that a well- 
drained soil is absolutely essential to vigorous growth and 
to large, matured canes. This is easily understood when it 
is learned that cane, like all grasses, requires a large quan- 
tity of nitrogen for perfect growth, and this must be fur- 




FiG. 274. Cutting Sugar Cane 

nished usually by the soil. Only well-aired, moderately 
moist soils furnish the conditions which render the nitrogen 
of the soil available ; hence on every estate the lands should 
be well drained either by open ditches or tiles. 

The varieties of cane are numerous, but the kinds 
usually grown in the South are the purple, purple-striped 
or ribbon, and the green. Recently there have been 
distributed several varieties of "seedlings," which are 



3l8 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

now being tried throughout the cane belt. Reference has 
already been made to the large number of infertile seeds in 
every cane tassel. By extreme care a few of the fertile 
seeds can be made to germinate. After germination every 
plant varies greatly from its parents and from the plants 
grown with it. Therefore each plant is carried to maturity 
and then tested, and if found of merit is propagated in the 
usual way by planting the stalk. In this way a number 
of promising •' seedlings " have been given to the world. 




Fig. 275. A Field of Cane prostrated by Wind 

Soils for Cane. The soils best adapted to canes are, 
broadly speaking, those which contain the largest amount 
of fertilizing material and which have a large water-holding 
capacity. In south Louisiana alluvial loams and loamy 
clays are cultivated, while in Georgia, Alabama, and 
Florida light, sandy soils, when properly fertilized and cul- 
tivated, produce fine crops. Soils capable of holding water 
and fertilizers can frequently be profitably cultivated by 




319 



320 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

artificially supplying these essential factors of heavy cane 
growing. 

Cane is usually planted in five to six foot rows, A 
trench is opened in the center of the row with a plow, 
and in this open furrow is deposited a continuous line of 
stalks, which are carefully covered with plow, cultivator, 
or hoes. From one to three continuous lines of stalks 
are placed in the furrow. From two to six tons of seed 
cane are required for an acre. In a favorable season this 
cane soon sprouts and then cultivation begins. Each 
young sprout, like all grasses, suckers vigorously and soon 
the entire row is filled with cane. 

The cultivation best adapted to corn will meet all the 
requirements of cane. It should be cultivated at short 
intervals until "laid by," which should occur when the 
cane is large enough to shade the soil. 

In Louisiana large quantities of tankage, cotton-seed 
meal, and acid phosphate are used to fertilize the cane 
crop, the quantity used on an acre varying from four 
hundred to seven hundred pounds. 

In Louisiana one planting of cane usually gives two 
crops; the first is called "plant cane" and the second 
"first-year stubble" or "rattoon." Sometimes second- 
year stubbles are grown. 

In tropical countries the cane produces crops for many 
years, sometimes for as many as fifteen or twenty years. 
It is extremely doubtful, however, whether it pays to carry 
stubbles so long. 

In Louisiana canes are planted from October to April, 
some preferring fall, others spring planting. Each coun- 
try has its season for planting and harvesting. 




321 



322 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

In the United States the cane is harvested annually, 
because of the frost of our winters, while in tropical coun- 
tries it is permitted to grow from fifteen to twenty-four 
months before harvest. 

It is necessary in the United States to save seed from 
the fall harvest for the next crop. Sometimes the cane is 
planted in the fall as soon as it is cut, and covered deep to 
exclude the frost. Oftener, however, it has to be pre- 
served through the winter for spring planting. This is 
done either in horizontal or vertical mats, or by throwing 
the cane into the middles between the rows and covering 
with dirt by means of large plows. 

The juice of the cane varies in different countries, 
and even upon different soils and in different seasons. In 
some countries it may contain as high as twenty per cent 
of sugar and with very little other matter present, making 
it easy to work. In Louisiana the juice varies from eleven 
per cent to fourteen per cent, with two per cent to three 
per cent of impurities present. Upon the sandy soils of 
Georgia, Florida, and Alabama the sugar content is higher, 
often reaching sixteen per cent, with of course a diminu- 
tion of impurities. The yield of cane per acre in tons is 
also a variable quantity, depending upon country, season, 
and soil. Over one hundred tons per acre have been 
grown in Hawaii, and sixty tons in Louisiana, but the 
average is much below these figures. In Louisiana an 
average of twenty to thirty tons per acre on a large estate 
is considered a fair yield. Upon the sandy lands of the 
coasts fifteen to twenty tons per acre are good yields. 

Making of Syrup, Sugar, and Molasses. A small mill, 
propelled by horses, for crushing the cane, and a kettle or 



SUGAR CANE 



323 



pan for evaporating the juice, constitute the outfit for 
making syrup. This equipment is very cheap and can be 
easily operated by a small family. While these small mills 
rarely extract more than one half of the juice in the cane, 
the syrup made by them is exceedingly palatable and 
usually commands a good price in our markets. 

In our large sugar houses nine-roller mills, with a 
crusher in front, clarifiers, evaporators, multiple effects, 
vacuum pans, centrifugals, pumps, filter presses, boilers 




Fig. 278. A Common Type of Syrup Factory 



and engines, tanks and cars, are found. A modern, up-to- 
date sugar house, capable of handling from five hundred 
to one thousand tons of sugar cane, will cost from one 



324 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



hundred thousand to two hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars, and a large number of both skilled and unskilled 
laborers is required to operate it. Such a mill as the 
above will extract from seventy-five to eighty pounds of 
juice from every one hundred pounds of cane. The 
refuse left after the juice is extracted is called ** bagasse " 




Fig. 279. Transferring Cane from Wagon to Trolley 



or "megass," and can be used as fuel under the boilers, 
or made into wrapping paper. The juice is usually treated 
with sulphur and lime, and then boiled. This treatment 
brings to the surface a heavy blanket of scums, which is 
removed and, with .the settlings, sent through the filter 
press, where the juice is extracted and the solid matter 
(cake) retained in the press. This clarified juice is now 
evaporated into syrup, either in open vessels or in multiple 
effects. The syrup is now drawn into the vacuum pan, 
where it is cooked to grain at a high vacuum and a low 



SUGAR CANE 325 

temperature. This mixture of sugar and molasses (called 
masse cuite) is drawn into a centrifugal machine with 
perforated wire gauze sides placed within a solid iron 
vessel. By a rapid rotation of this machine, the liquid 
molasses is thrown through the wire gauze into the outer 
vessel, while the sugar is retained in the centrifugal. By 
using water or other washes, any grade of sugar may be 




Fig. 280. Machine for transferring Cane from Cars to Carrier 

made. By again cooking the molasses separated from the 
first sugar, second sugar, usually termed "seconds," may 
be obtained. The molasses from the second sugar may 
be made to yield third sugar, or "thirds." 

There are a few open-kettle sugar houses left in Loui- 
siana. These differ from the above in that the syrup is 
cooked directly in open pans or kettles to a heavy density 
and placed in vessels (called coolers) to crystallize. In 
a few days this crystallized mass may be either potted 



326 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

in hogsheads or run through a centrifugal machine as 
described above. Open-kettle sugar and molasses are 
thus obtained, the latter fetching a high price on account 
of its delicious flavor and agreeable aroma. 

Write to the Louisiana Sugar Experiment Station, 
Audubon Park, New Orleans, Louisiana, for bulletins 
on sugar cane. 




Fig. 281. Sugar Shed in New Orleans 



APPENDIX 

SPRAYING MIXTURES 

FOR BITING INSECTS 

Dry Paris Green Wet Paris Green 

Paris green .... i lb. Paris green . . . % \h. 
Lime or flour 20 to 50 lbs. Lime . . . ^ to J^ lb. 

Water .... 50 gals. 

FOR SOFT-BODIED SUCKING INSECTS 

Kerosene Emulsion 

Hard soap (in fine shavings) ^ lb. 

Water i gal. 

Kerosene 2 gals. 

Dissolve soap in boiling water, add kerosene to the hot water, 
chum with spraying pump until the mixture changes to a creamy, 
then to a soft, butterlike mass. This gives three gallons of 66 per cent 
oil emulsion which may be diluted to the strength desired. To get 
15 per cent oil emulsion add ten and one half gallons water. 

FOR FUNGOUS DISEASES 

Copper Sulphate 

Copper sulphate i lb. 

Water 18 to 25 gals. 

Use only before foliage opens to kill wintering spores. 

Bordeaux Mixture 

Copper sulphate 5 lbs. 

Lime (good and unslacked) 5 lbs. 

Water 50 gals. 

327 



DIRECTIONS FOR SPRAYING 



FIRST 



SECOND 



Apple, Pear, and Quince. — 

Scab, codlingmoth, tent 
caterpillar,canker-worm . 



Bean. — Leaf blight and 
spots. 



Cabbage, Cauliflower, etc. 
— Lice and worms. 



Carnation. — Rust and 
other diseases. 



Celery, 
spots. 



Blights and 



Cherry. — Rot. 



Cucumber, Squash, and 
Melon. — Mildew and 
beetle. 



Grape. — Mildew, an- 
thracnose, black rot, etc. 



Nursery Stock. — Fungous 
diseases. 



Peach and Plum. — Rot, 
mildew, and curl. 

Potato. — Early and late 
blight and bug. 

Grain. — Smuts. 



Before buds swell, cop- 
per sulphate or lime- 
sulphur wash. 



When second leaf 
opens, Bordeaux 
mixture. 

Use Kerosene Emulsion 
as needed until plants 
head. 

As needed, copper sul- 
phate, I lb. to 25 gals., 
every 8 to 14 days. 

Begin in seed bed, Bor- 
deaux mixture, 8 to 
1 4 days, or often 
enough to keep foli- 
age covered. 

Before buds swell, fire- 
boiled lime-sulphur 
wash. 

Often enough to keep 
foliage covered, Bor- 
deaux-Paris-green 
mixture. 

When buds swell, Bor- 
deaux mixture. 



When leaves appear, 
Bordeaux-Paris-green 
mixture. 

Before buds open, fire- 
boiled lime-sulphur 
wash. 

When two thirds grown, 
Bordeaux mixture. 



See text. 



Before blossoms open, 
Bordeaux mixture or 
lime-sulphur wash. 



10 to 14 days later, 
Bordeaux mixture. 



Three weeks after blos- 
soms fall, self-boiled 
lime-sulphur wash. 



Just before flowers 
open, Bordeaux- 
Paris-green mixture. 

Continue Bordeaux 
mixture every 10 to 
14 days. 

Three weeks after blos- 
soms fall, self-boiled 
lime-sulphur wash. 

Repeat Bordeaux mix- 
ture every two or 
three weeks ; for 
bugs add Paris green, 
when needed. 



328 Send to your Experiment Station and to the United States Depart- 



DIRECTIONS FOR SPRAYING 



THIRD 



FOURTH 



REMARKS 



After blossoms fall, Bor- 
deaux-Paris-green 
mixture or lime-sul- 
phur wash. 

lo to 14 days later, Bor- 
deaux Mixture. 



10 to 14 days later, self- 
boiled lime-sulphur 
wash. 



When fruit sets, Bor- 
deaux-Paris-green 
mixture. 



10 to 14 days later, self- 
boiled lime-sulphur 
wash. 



8 to 14 days later, Bor- 
deaux-Paris-green 
mixture or lime- 
sulphur wash. 

Repeat Bordeaux mix- 
ture when needed. 



As fruit enlarges, am- 
moniacal copper car 
bonate. 



10 to 14 days later, self- 
boiled lime-sulphur 
wash. 



For scale, see text ; for 
fire blight and canker, 
cut and burn ; add 
Paris green, when 
needed, for canker- 
worms. 



For worms, use dry 
Paris green with lime 
or flour, I oz. to 6 lbs. 
Do not use after 
plants begin to head. 



For lice, kerosene emul- 
sion ; for black knot, 
cut and burn. 



For plant lice, kerosene 
emulsion ; for scale, 
see text. 



For curculio and 
scale, see text. 



for 



For scab, soak seed 
potatoes before cut- 
ting for two hours in 
formalin, 8 oz. to 15 
gals, of water. 



ment of Agriculture for more detailed directions for treatment. 329 



330 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Dissolve the copper sulphate (bluestone) in twenty-five gallons of 
water. Slack the lime slowly so as to get a smooth, thick cream. 
After thorough slacking, add twenty-five gallons of water. When 
lime and bluestone are dissolved, pour rapidly together and mix 
thoroughly. Strain through a coarse cloth. 

Mix fresh for each time. Use for molds and fungi generally. 
Apply in fine spray with a good nozzle. 

Weak Bordeaux Mixture for Peaches, Plums, and 
Cherries in Foliage 

Mix as above, but in the following proportions : 

Copper sulphate lyi lbs. 

Lime lyi lbs. 

Water 50 gals. 

Bordeaux-Paris-Green Mixture 

Ordinary Bordeaux mixture 50 gals. 

Paris green 4 oz. 

Use for both fungi and insects on apple, potato, etc. 

Ammoniacal Copper Carbonate 

Copper carbonate 5 oz. 

Ammonia (26° Baumd) about 3 pts. 

Water 50 gals. 

Dissolve the copper carbonate in smallest possible amount of 
ammonia. This solution may be kept in stock and diluted to 
proper strength as needed. 

Use this instead of the Bordeaux mixture after the fruit has 
reached half or two thirds of the mature si^e. It leaves no spots 
as does the Bordeaux. 

SPRAYS FOR BOTH FUNGOUS AND INSECT PESTS 

Fire-Boiled Lime-Sulphur Wash 

Lime 20 lbs. 

Sulphur 15 lbs. 

Water 50 gals. 



APPENDIX 331 

The lime, the sulphur, and about half of the water required are boiled 
together for forty-five minutes in a kettle over a fire, or in a barrel or 
other suitable tank by steam, strained, and then diluted to 50 gallons. 
This is the wash regularly used against the San Jos^ scale. It may be 
substituted for Bordeaux mixture when spraying trees in the dormant 
state, but it is injurious to foliage and cannot be safely used, unless 
greatly diluted, as a summer spray. 

Self-Boiled Lime-Sulphur Wash 
The self-boiled lime-sulphur wash is a combination of lime and sulphur 
boiled with only the heat of the slaking lime, and is used chiefly for 
summer spraying as a substitute for Bordeaux mixture where the latter 
is injurious to foliage or fruit. 

Lime 10 lbs. 

Sulphur ID lbs. 

Water 50 gals. 

The lime should be placed in a barrel and enough water poured on it 
to start it slaking and to keep the sulphur off the bottom of the barrel. 
The sulphur, which should first be worked through a sieve to break up 
the lumps, may then be added, and finally enough water to slake the 
lime into a paste. Considerable stirring is necessary to prevent caking 
on the bottom. After the violent boiling which accompanies the slaking 
of the Ume is over, the mixture should be diluted ready for use, or at 
least enough cold water added to stop the cooking. Five to fifteen 
minutes are required for the process. If the hot mass is permitted to 
stand undiluted as a thick paste, a liquid is produced that is injurious to 
peach foliage and in some cases to apple foliage. 

The mixture should be strained through a sieve of twenty meshes to the 
inch in order to remove the coarse particles of lime, but all the sulphur 
should be worked through the strainer. 

COST OF SPRAYING 

Sulphate of copper costs about ten to fifteen cents a pound. 
Formalin may be bought for from seventy-five to ninety cents a pound. 
You can make the Bordeaux mixture at a cost of a little less than 
one cent a gallon. 



332 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Spraying potatoes costs from three and one half to seven dollars an 
acre. The cost depends upon the number of applications and the 
amount of foliage to be covered. 

Fruit trees fully grown may be sprayed for from six to twenty cents 
a season. This includes the cost of labor. 

FERTILIZER FORMULAS FOR CORN, COTTON, AND TOBACCO 

(These formulas were kindly furnished by Director C. B. Williams of the 
North Carolina Experiment Station.) 

Fertilizers for Corn. — For average conditions a fertilizer containing 
ID per cent of available phosphoric acid, i-| per cent of potash, and 4 per 
cent of nitrogen is well suited to corn. The following mixtures furnish 
these materials in approximately the above proportions : 

No. I 

Acid phosphate, 1 6 per cent of phosphoric acid . 900 lbs. 
Cotton-seed meal, 6.59 per cent of nitrogen, 2.8 per 

cent phosphoric acid, and 1.8 per cent of potash . 1050 lbs. 
Kainit, 1 2 per cent of potash 50 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 
No. 2 

Acid phosphate 840 lbs. 

Fish scrap, 8^ per cent of nitrogen and 6 per cent 

of phosphoric acid 920 lbs. 

Kainit 240 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 
No. 3 

Acid phosphate 925 lbs. 

Fish scrap 1015 lbs. 

Muriate of potash, 50 per cent of potash ... 60 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 
No. 4 

Acid phosphate 915 lbs. 

Cotton-seed meal 1070 lbs. 

Muriate of potash 15 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 



APPENDIX 333 

No. 5 

Acid phosphate 1300 lbs. 

Dried blood, 1 3 per cent of nitrogen 640 lbs. 

Muriate of potash 60 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 

Fertilizers for Cotton. — A fertilizer containing 10 per cent of available 
phosphoric acid, 2I per cent of potash, and 2I per cent of nitrogen is 
well suited to cotton. The following mixtures furnish these materials 
in approximately the above proportions : 

No. I 

Acid phosphate 1025 lbs. 

Cotton-seed meal 700 lbs. 

Kainit 275 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 
No. 2 

Acid phosphate 1000 lbs. 

Fish scrap 590 lbs. 

Kainit 410 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 
No. 3 

Acid phosphate 1 145 lbs. 

Cotton-seed meal 780 lbs. 

Muriate of potash y^ lbs. 

2000 lbs. 
No. 4 

Acid phosphate 1185 lbs. 

Fish scrap 700 lbs. 

Muriate of potash 115 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 
No. 5 

Acid phosphate 144° lbs. 

Dried blood, 1 3 per cent of nitrogen 445 lbs. 

Muriate of potash 115 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 



334 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Fertilizers for Tobacco. — For average conditions a fertilizer con- 
taining about 9 per cent of available phosphoric acid, 5 per cent of 
potash, and 4 per cent of nitrogen is well suited to tobacco. The following 
mixtures furnish these materials in approximately the above proportions : 

No. I 

Cotton-seed meal 900 lbs. 

Nitrate of soda, 1 5 per cent of nitrogen .... 90 lbs. 

Sulphate of potash, 50 per cent of potash ... 150 lbs. 

Acid phosphate 860 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 
No. 2 

Dried blood 500 lbs. 

Nitrate of soda 1 20 lbs. 

Sulphate of potash 210 lbs. 

Acid phosphate 1 1 70 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 
No. 3 

Fish scrap 750 lbs. 

Nitrate of soda no lbs. 

Sulphate of potash 1 70 lbs. 

Acid phosphate 970 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 
No. 4 

Dried blood 635 lbs. 

Sulphate of potash 205 lbs. 

Acid phosphate 1 1 60 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 
No. 5 

Cotton-seed meal 1065 lbs. 

Sulphate of potash 1 35 lbs. 

Acid phosphate 800 lbs. 

2000 lbs. 



GLOSSARY 



To enable young readers to understand the technical words necessarily 
used in the text only popular definitions are given. 

Abdomen : the part of an insect lying behind the thorax. 

Acid : a chemical name given to many sour substances. Vinegar 

and lemon juice owe their sour taste to the acid in them. 
Adult : a person, animal, or plant grown to full size and strength. 
Ammonia (ammonium) : a compound of nitrogen readily usable as 

a plant food. It is one of the products of decay. 
Annual : a plant that bears seed during the first year of its existence 

and then dies. 
Anther : the part of a stamen that bears the pollen. 
Atmospheric nitrogen : nitrogen in the air. Great quantities of this 

valuable plant food are in the air ; but, strange to say, most 

plants cannot use it directly from the air, but must take it in 

other forms, as nitrates, etc. The legumes are an exception, as 

they can use atmospheric nitrogen. 
Available plant food : food in such condition that plants can use it. 
Bacteria : a name applied to a number of kinds of very small living 

beings, some beneficial, some harmful, some disease-producing. 

They average about one twenty-thousandth of an inch in length. 
Balanced ration : a ration made up of the proper amounts of carbo- 
hydrates, fats, and protein, as explained in text. Such a ration 

avoids all waste of food. 
Biennial: a plant that produces seed during the second year of its 

existence and then dies. 
Blight : a diseased condition in plants in which the whole or a part 

of a plant withers or dries up. 
Bluestone : a chemical; copper sulphate. It is used to kill fungi, etc. 

335 



336 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Bordeaux Mixture : a mixture invented in Bordeaux, France, to 

destroy disease-producing fungi. 
Bud (noun) : an undeveloped branch. 
Bud (verb) : to insert a bud from the scion upon the stock to insure 

better fruit. 
Bud variation : occasionally one bud on a plant will produce a branch 

differing in some ways from the rest of the branches ; this is bud 

variation. The shoot that is produced by bud variation is called 

a sport. 
Calyx : the outermost row of leaves in a flower. 
Cambium: the growing layer lying between the wood and the bark. 
Canon : the shank bone above the fetlock in the fore and hind legs 

of a horse. 
Carbohydrates : carbohydrates are foods free from nitrogen. They 

make up the largest part of all vegetables. Examples are sugar, 

starch, and cellulose. 
Carbolic acid : a chemical often used to kill or prevent the growth of 

germs, bacteria, fungi, etc. 
Carbon : a chemical element. Charcoal is nearly pure carbon. 
Carbon disulphide : a chemical used to kill insects. 
Carbonic acid gas : a gas consisting of carbon and oxygen. It is pro- 
duced by breathing, and whenever carbon is burned. It is the 

source of the carbon in plants. 
Cereal : the name given to grasses that are raised for the food con- 
tained in their seeds, such as corn, wheat, rice. 
Cobalt : a poisonous chemical used to kill insects. 
Cocoon : the case made by an insect to contain its larva or pupa. 
Commercial fertilizer : an enriching plant food bought to improve soil. 
Compact : a soil is said to be compact when the particles are closely 

packed. 
Concentrated : when applied to food the word means that it contains 

much feeding value in small bulk. 
Contagious : a disease is said to be contagious when it can be spread 

or carried from one individual to another. 
Cross : the result of breeding two varieties of plant together. 
Cross pollination : the pollination of a flower by pollen brought from 

a flower on some other plant. 



GLOSSARY 337 

Croup : the top of the hips. 

Culture: the art of preparing ground for seed and raising crops by- 
tillage. 

Curb disease : a swelling on the back part of the hind leg of a horse 
just behind the lowest part of the hock joint. It generally causes 
lameness. 

Curculio : a kind of beetle or weevil. 

Dendrolene : a patented substance used for catching cankerworms. 

Digestion: the act by which food is prepared by the juices of the 
body to be used by the blood. 

Dormant : a word used to describe sleeping or resting bodies, — bodies 
not in a state of activity. 

Drainage : the process by which an excess of water is removed from 
the land by ditches, terraces, or tiles. 

Element : a substance that cannot be divided into simpler sub- 
stances. 

Ensilage : green foods preserved in a silo. 

Evaporate : to pass off in vapor, as a fluid often does ; to change 
from a solid or liquid state into vapor, usually by heat. 

Exhaustion: the state in which strength, power, and force have been 
lost. When applied to land, the word means that land has lost 
its power to produce well. 

Fermentation : a chemical change produced by bacteria, yeast, etc. 
A common example of fermentation is the change of cider into 
vinegar. 

Fertility : the state of being fruitful. Land is said to be fertile when 
it produces well. 

Fertilization : the act which follows pollination and enables a flower 
to produce seed. 

Fetlock : the long-haired cushion on the back side of a horse's leg 
just above the hoof. 

Fiber : any fine, slender thread or threadlike substance, as the rootlets 
of plants or the lint of cotton. 

Filter : to purify a liquid, as water, by causing it to pass through 
some substance, as paper, cloth, screens, etc. 

Formalin : a forty per cent solution of a chemical known as formal- 
dehyde. Formalin is used to kill fungi, bacteria, etc. 



338 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Formula : a recipe for the making of a compound ; for example, fer- 
tilizer or spraying compounds. 
Fungicide : a substance used to kill or prevent the growth of fungi ; 

for example, Bordeaux Mixture or copper sulphate. 
Fungous : belonging to or caused by fungi. 
Fungus (plural fungi) : a low kind of plant life lacking in green 

color. Molds and toadstools are examples. 
Germ : that from which anything springs. The term is often applied 

to any very small organism or living thing, particularly if it 

causes great effects such as disease, fermentation, etc. 
Germinate : to sprout. A seed germinates when it begins to grow. 
Girdle : to make a cut or groove around a limb or tree. 
Glacier : an immense field or stream of ice formed in the region of 

constant snow and moving slowly down a slope or valley. 
Globule : a small particle of matter shaped like a globe. 
Glucose : a kind of sugar very common in plants. The sugar from 

grapes, honey, etc. is glucose. That from the sugar cane is not. 
Gluten : a vegetable form of protein found in cereals. 
Graft : to place a living branch or stem on another living stem so 

that it may grow there. It insures, the growth of the desired 

kind of plant. 
Granule : a little grain. 
Gypsum : land plaster. 
" Head back " ; to cut or prune a tree so as to form its head, that is, 

the place where the main trunk first gives off its branches. 
Heredity : the resemblance of offspring to parent. 
Hibernating : to pass the winter in a torpid or inactive state in close 

quarters. 
Hock : the joint in the hind leg of quadrupeds between the leg and 

the shank. It corresponds to the ankle in man. 
Host : the plant upon which a fungus or insect is preying. 
Humus : the portion of the soil caused by the decay of animal or 

vegetable matter. 
Hybrid : the result of breeding two different kinds of plants together. . 
Hydrogen: a chemical element. It is present in water and in all 

living things. 
Indiridual : a single person, plant, animal, or thing of any kind. 



GLOSSARY 339 

Inoculate : to give a disease by inserting the germ that causes it in 

a healthy being. 
Insectivorous : anything that eats insects. 
Kainit : salts of potash used in making fertilizers. 
Kernel : a single seed or grain, as a kernel of corn. 
Kerosene emulsion : see Appendix. 

Larva (plural larvae) : the young or immature form of an insect. 
Larval: belonging to larva. 

Layer : to propagate plants by a method similar to cutting, but differ- 
ing from cutting in that the young plant takes root before it is 

separated from the parent plant. 
Legume : a plant belonging to the family of the pea, clover, and 

bean; that is, having a flower of similar structure. 
Lichen : a kind of flowerless plant that grows on stones, trees, boards, 

etc. 
Loam : an earthy mixture of clay and sand with organic matter. 
Magnesia : an earthy white substance somewhat similar to lime. 
Magnify : to make a thing larger in fact or in appearance ; to enlarge 

the appearance of a thing so that the parts may be seen more easily. 
Membrane : a thin layer or fold of animal or vegetable matter. 
Mildew : a cobwebby growth of fungi on diseased or decaying things. 
Mold : see viildew. 
Mulch : a covering of straw, leaves, or like substances over the roots 

of plants to protect them from heat, drought, etc., and to preserve 

moisture. 
Nectar : a sweetish substance in blossoms of flowers from which bees 

make honey. 
Nitrate : a readily usable form of nitrogen. The most common nitrate 

is saltpeter. 
Nitrogen: a chemical element, one of the most important and most 

expensive plant foods. It exists in fertilizers, in ammonia, in 

nitrates, and in organic matter. 
Nodule : a little knot or bump. 

Nutrient : any substance which nourishes or promotes growth. 
Organic matter : substances made through the growth of plants or 

animals. 
Ovary : the particular part of the pistil that bears the immature seed. 



340 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Ovipositor : the organ with which an insect deposits its eggs. 

Oxygen : a gas present in the air and necessary to breathing. 

Particle : any very small part of a body. 

Perennial : living through several years. All trees are perennial. 

Petal : a single leaf of the corolla. 

Phosphoric acid : an important plant food occurring in bones and rock 

phosphates. 
Pistil: the part of the blossom that contains the immature seeds. 
Pollen : the powdery substance borne by the stamen of the flower. 

It is necessary to seed production. 
Pollination: the act of carrying pollen from stamens to pistils. It is 

usually done by the wind or by insects. 
Porosity : the state of having small openings or passages between 

the particles of matter. 
Potash : an important part of plant foods. The chief source of 

potash is kainit, muriate of potash, sulphate of potash, wood 

ashes, and cotton-hull ashes. 
Propagate : to cause plants or animals to increase in number. 
Protein : the name of a group of substances containing nitrogen. It 

is one of the most important of feeding stuffs. 
Pruning : trimming or cutting parts that are not needed or that are 

injurious. 
Pulverize : to reduce to a dustlike state. 
Pupa: an ins:ct in the stage of its life that comes just before the 

adult condition. 
Purity (of seed) : seeds are pure when they contain only one kind of 

seed and no foreign matter. 
Ration : a fixed daily allowance of food for an animal. 
Raupenleim : a patented sticky substance used to catch the cankerworm. 
Resistant : a plant is resistant to disease when it can ward off attacks 

of the disease ; for example, some varieties of the grape are resist- 
ant to the phylloxera. 
Rotation (of crops) : a well-arranged succession of different crops on 

the same land. 
Scion : a shoot, sprout, or branch taken to graft or bud upon another 

plant. 
Seed bed : the layer of earth in which seeds are sown. 



GLOSSARY 341 

Seed selection : the careful selection of seed from particular plants 

with the object of keeping or increasing some desirable quality. 
Seedling : a young plant just from the seed. 
Sepal : one of the leaves in the calyx. 
Set : a young plant for propagation. 
Silo : a house or pit for packing away green food for winter use so 

as to exclude air and moisture. 
Sire : father. 
Smut : a disease of plants, particularly of cereals, which causes the 

plant or some part of it to become a powdery mass. 
Spike : a lengthened flower cluster with stalkless flowers. 
Spiracle : an air opening in the body of an insect. 
Spore : a small body formed by a fungus to reproduce the fungus. 

It serves the same use as seeds do for flowering plants. 
Spray : to apply a liquid in the form of a very fine mist by the aid of 

a spraying pump for the purpose of killing fungi or insects. 
Stamen : the part of the flower that bears the pollen. 
Stamina : endurance. 
Sterilize : to destroy all the germs or spores in or on anything. 

Sterilizing is often done by heat or chemicals. 
Stigma : the part of the pistil that receives the pollen. 
Stock: the stem or main part of a tree or plant. In grafting or bud- 
ding the scion is inserted upon the stock. 
Stover : as used in this book the word means the dry stalks of corn 

from which the ears have been removed. 
Subsoil : the soil under the topsoil. 
Sulphur : a yellowish chemical element ; brimstone. 
Taproot : the main root of a plant, which runs directly down into the 

earth to a considerable depth without dividing. 
Terrace : a ridge of earth run on a level around a slope or hillside to 

keep the land from washing. 
Thorax : the middle part of the body of an insect. The thorax lies 

between the abdomen and the head. 
Thermometer : an instrument for measuring heat. 
Tillage : the act of preparing land for seed, and keeping the ground 

in a proper state for the growth of crops. 



342 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Transplant: a plant grown in a bed with a view to being removed to 

other soil; a technical term used by gardeners. 
Tubercle : a small, wartlike growth on the roots of legumes. 
Udder : the milk vessel of a cow. 
Utensil : a vessel used for household purposes. 
Variety : a particular kind. For example, the Winesap, Bonum, /Esop, 

etc., are different varieties of apples. 
Ventilate : to open to the fri;e passage of air. 
Virgin soil : a soil which has never been cultivated. 
Vitality (of seed) : vitality is the ability to grow. Seed are of good 

vitality if a large per cent of them will sprout. 
Weathering : the action of moisture, air, frost, etc. upon rocks. 
Weed : a plant out of place. A wheat plant in a rose bed or a rose 

in the wheat field would be regarded as a weed, as would any 

plant growing in a place in which it is not wanted. 
Wilt (of cotton) : a disease of cotton in which the whole plant droops 

or wilts. 
Withers : the ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse, at the 

base of the neck. 
Yeast : a preparation containing the yeast plant used to make bread 

rise, etc. 



INDEX 



Alfalfa, 288, 290. 

Animals, 182. 

Annual, 74. 

Ant, 118. 

Anther, 46. 

Apple, 62, 82, 92, 103, 328. 

Apple-tree tent caterpillar, 136, 137. 

Asparagus, 257. 

Bacteria, 26, 33, loi, 104, 225. 

Bailey, Professor, quoted, 56. 

Balanced ration, 216-218. 

Beans, 253, 258. 

Bee, 120, 207. 

Bee, anti-robbing entrance, 210. 

Bee culture, 207. 

Beet, 253, 257. 

Beetle, 120, 121. 

cucumber, 262. 
Biennials, 74. 
Birds, 234. 
Black knot, 114, 115. 
Blackberry, 58, 62. 
Blight, 266. 

egg plant, 263. 

pear and apple, 103. 

potato, III. 

tomato, 265. 
Bordeaux mixture, 99, 100, 327. 
Bordeaux-Paris-green mixture, 130, 

330- 
Borer, peach, 138. 
Breeding cage, insect, 126. 



Bud variation, 61. 
Budding, 86. 
Buds, 58, 62, 86. 
Bug, 120, 121. 
Bulbs, 271. 
Burbank, Luther, 86. 
Butter, 223. 
Butterfly, 120, 123. 

Cabbage, 114, 248, 251, 254 255, 
258. 
worm, 140, 141. 
Cambium, 84, 104. 
Cankerworm, 133. 
Canna, 277. 
Cantaloupes, 261. 
Cape jessamine, 270. 
Capillarity, 12. 
Carbohydrates, 213, 214. 
Carbon, 41, 42. 
Carbonic acid gas, 8. 
Caterpillar, 123. 
Cattle, 192. 

Cauliflower, 114, 249, 328. 
Celery, 254, 259. 
Cherries, 62, 328, 330. 
Chinch bug, 140. 
Churn, the, 222, 223. 
Clover, 39, 284, 294. 
Club root, 1 14. 
Cocoon, 121, 122, 124, 125. 
Codling moth, 128. 
Cold frame, 249, 251, 252, 253. 



343 



344 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Colostrum, 220. 
Consumption, germ of, loi. 
Corms, 272. 
Corn, 38, 39, 168, 253, 254, 331. 

blossom of, 47. 

roots of, 29, 30. 

selection of seed, 69. 
Cotton, 150, 331. 

boll weevil, 298. 

resistant variety, 105. 

Sea Island, 105. 

wilt, 115. 
Cow, the dairy, 216. 

care of, 218. 
Cowpeas, 33, 37, 38, 39, 76, 262. 
Cream, 221. 

Crop rotation, illustration of, 40. 
Crops, 148, 149. 

rotation of, 9, 21, 22, 35. 

value per acre of, 149. 
Crosses, 50. 
Cross pollination, 50. 
Cucumber, 261. 

beetle, 262. 
Curculio, plum, 131. 
Currant, 62. 
Cuttings, 54, 56, 57, 61, 269, 270. 

Dahlia, 272, 273, 276. 
Dairying, 216, 224. 
Dendrolene, 135. 
Diphtheria, germ of, ici. 
Diseases of plants, 94. 
Domestic animals, 182. 
Drainage, benefits of, 15. 
Dry farming, 305. 
Ducks, 204. 

Egg plants, 249, 251, 262. 
Ensilage, 218. 



Farm crops, 148. 
Fats, 213, 214. 
Feeding, reasons for, 211. 
Feeding stuffs, digestible nutrients 
in, 214, 215. 
growing, on the farm, 228. 
Fertilization, 48. 
Fertilizers, 24, 28, 331. 
Field insects, 118, 140. 
Figs, 61. 
Fire blight, 103. 
Flax, 65. 
Flea-beetle, 144. 
Floriculture, 247. 
Flower, the, 44. 
Flower gardening, 268. 
Fly, 120. 
Forage, 284. 
Formalin, 108, iii. 
Fowls, 204. 
Fruit mold, 116. 
Fruit rot, 94. 

Fruit tree, how to raise a, 82. 
Fultz, Abraham, 68. 
Fungi, 98. 

Garden, 179. 
Garden insects, 118, 140. 
Gardening, 247 
Geese, 204. 
Geranium, 271. 
Germs, :i2^ 34, 104 

teria. 
Gideon, Mr., 61. 
Girdler, 137. 
Girdling, 43, 44. 
Glacier, 3, 4, 5. 
Gladiolus, 250. 
Gooseberries, 62. 
Grafting, 58, 83. 



see also Bac- 



INDEX 



345 



Grafting, cleft, 85, 86. 

root, 85. 

time for, 85. 

tongue, 83, 84. 

wax, 84. 
Grape, 61, 328. 
Grape cutting, 57. 
Grape phylloxera, 132. 
Grape pollination, 55. 
Grass crop, 148, 284. 
Greenhouse, 25c, 252, 253, 265. 

Heading back, 89. 
Hens, 204, 206. 
Heredity, 70. 
Hessian fly, 145. 
Homes, country, 240. 
Horse, 183. 

diagrams by which to judge, 
186, 189, 190. 

Percheron, 185. 

proportions of, 191. 
Horticulture, 247. 
Host, 98. 

Hotbed, 250, 251, 252. 
Humus, 6, 20, 21, 23. 
Hybrids, 50, 51. 

Insects, cage for breeding, 1 26. 

field, 141. 

garden, 141. 

general, 118. 

how they feed, 121. 

orchard, 126. 

parts of, I rg. 
Irish potato, 58. 

propagation of, 58. 
Irrigation, 309. 

Kerosene emulsion, 127, 327. 
King quoted, 4. 



Land, reclaiming of, 19, 37. 

Landscape gardening, 247. 

Larva, 121. 

Layering, 58, 60. 

Legumes, 22^ 34- 

Lettuce, 249, 251, 254, 257. 

Lime, 26. 

Louse, plant, 142. 

Machines, farm, 232. 
Manures, 22, 24, 28. 
Market gardening, 248. 
Melons, 262, 266. 
Mildew, 96, 98. 

how to prevent, 98. 
Milk, 220, 224. 

sours, how, 225. 
Moisture, 10. 
Mold, 95-97, 1 16. 
Moth, 120, 122, 124. 
Moth, codling, 128. 
Mulch, 13. 

Nectar, 49. 

Nitrogen, 24, 34, 35, 37, 38. 
Nitrogen-gathering crops, 16. 
Nodules, 38. 

Oat, 107. 
Onion, 261, 263. 
Orchard insects, 118, 126. 
Osmosis, 23- 

Paris green, 327. 

Parsnips, 253. 

Pasture grasses, 286. 

Peach, 62, 90, 92, 115, 1 16, 117, 

330- 
Peach borer, 138. 
Peach curl, 115. 



346 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Peanuts, 173. 

Pear, 62, 103, 328. 

Pear-tree girdler, 137. 

Peas, 253, 254, 264. 

Perennials, 75. 

Petal, 45. 

Phosphoric acid, 24. 

Phylloxera, 132. 

Pistil; 44, 45, 46. 

Plant, the, 41. 

Plant disease, cause of, 94. 

nature of, 94. 

prevention of, 102, 247, 328. 
Plant food, 36, 37. 

from air, 41. 

from soil, 31. 

kinds of, 36. 
Plant louse, 142. 
Plant propagation, 54. 

by buds, 54. 
Plant seeding, 62. 
Planting a tree, 88. 
Plow, right way to, 11. 
Plum curculio, 131. 
Plums, 62, 328. 
Pollen, 46, 47, 48. 
Pollination, 48-50. 

by hand, 51. 

cross, 50. 

grape, 55. 
Potash, 24. 
Potato, 58, 59, 328. 

beetle, 145. 

blight, III. 

scab, 109. 

sweet, 59, 175. 
Poultry, 204. 

Propagation of plants by buds, 54. 
Protein, 212, 214, 230. 
Pruning, 88. 



Pruning, root, 92. 
Pupa, 122, 124, 125. 
Purity of seed, 77. 

Quince, 62, 328. 

Radish, 249, 253, 254. 

Raspberry, 58, 62. 

Ration, balanced, 216-218. 

Raupenleim, 135. 

Red raspberry, 62. 

Rice, 177. 

Roads, 240, 241, 245. 

Root hairs, 27, 28, 29, 32, 42. 

Root pruning, 92. 

Root tubercles, 23< 37- 

Roots, 27. 

Rot of fruit, 94. 

Rotation of crops, 9, 21, 22, 35. 

San Jose scale, 126. 
Sap current, the, 42. 
Scab, 109. 

Schoolhouses, 240, 244. 
Scion, 84, 86. 
Seed, 44. 

germination, 78. 

purity, 77. 

selection, 51, 59, 65. 
of corn, 69. 
of cotton, 66. 
of potatoes, 59. 
of wheat, 66, 68. 

vitality, 77. 
Seeding, 62. 

Selection of seed ; see seed selection. 
Sepal, 45. 
Sheep, 197. 
Silo, 218. 
Smuts, 107. 



INDEX 



347 



Soil, I. 

bacteria in, 26. 

deepening of, 9. 

definition of, i. 

drainage of, 1 5. 

how water rises in, 14. 

improving, iS. 

manuring of, 22. 

moisture of, 10. 

origin of, i. 

particles of, magnified, 12. 

retention of water by, 13. 

tillage of, 6. 

virgin, 19, 20. 
Sowing (seed), 253. 
Spiders, red, 283. 
Spores, 95, 97, 98. 
Spraying, 112, 113, 117, 146, 327 

331- 

outfit, 143. 
Squanto, 22. 
Squash, 253, 259. 
Squash bug, the, 143. 
Stamen, 45-48. 
Stigma, 45-48. 
Stock, 84. 

Stockbridge quoted, 4. 
Strawberry, 58. 
Style, 45. 
Subsoil, I. 
Subsoiling, 10. 
Sugar cane, 314. 
Sweet pea, 276, 277. 
Sweet potato, 59, 175. 
Swine, 200. 

Tent caterpillar, 136, 137. 
Terraces, 20. 
Tile drain, 16. 

benefits of, 17. 
Tillage, 6, 19, 29. 



Tobacco, 159, 331, 333. 
Tobacco worm, 145. 
Tomato, 249, 251, 252, 265. 
Tongue grafting, 83, 84. 
Tools, 232. 
Topping, 161. 
Tree, manuring of, 28. 
Tubercle, 33, 39. 
Tull, Jethro, 6. 
quoted. 7. 
Turkeys, 204. 
Turnip, 114, 254. 
Typhoid fever, germ of, loi. 

Vitality of seed, 77. 

Wasp, 120. 
Water, 10. 
Water, absorption of, by plants, 10. 

retention of, by soil, 13. 

rise of, in soil, 14. 

saved by plants, 10. 

saved by soils, 12. 
Watermelons, 266, 267. 
Weathering, 5, 8. 
Weeds, 73. 
Weevil, 144. 

cotton-boll, 298. 

plum, 131. 
Wheat, 107, 163. 

yield of, 68. 
Wilt 

cotton, 1 1 5. 

watermelon, 267. 
Window box, 279, 281. 
Window garden, 280, 281. 
Window gardening, 281. 
Worn-out land, reclaiming of, 19, 

Yeast, 100. 



\ 



SUPPLEMENT TO 
"AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS" 

BY 

Henrv Jackson Waters 

President of the Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan 

FARM CROPS NEED HELP NOW 

A long time ago corn, wheat, beans, pumpkins, and all 
the other plants from which we derive our food grew wild 
and took care of themselves. They did their own planting, 
needed no cultivation, and were able to fight their own 
battles with other wild plants. 

Now we have to help them. We have to plow the land 
for them, plant their seed at the proper season, and, in the 
case of many of the crops, cultivate the land frequently 
during the summer to keep the weeds and other plants 
from crowding them out and starving them to death. When 
they are ripe we harvest their seed and put it into bins or 
granaries where it will be protected until planting time comes 
again. 

The wild wheat once was very different from the wheat 
we grow to-day. The same is true of corn and of all cul- 
tivated plants. As ^ve have improved them we have made 
them less able to fight their own battles, and we have made 
them more dependent upon man for help through proper 
cultivation and seed selection. If we did not take care of 

Note. Starred references refer to pages and figures in "Agriculture for Beginners." 



412.4 COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY GINN AND COMPANY 

I 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



our wheat and corn, and our pumpkins and beans and oats, 
they would not live. It has been said that if man were to 
disappear from the earth, wheat would follow him in less 
than three years. It would be just as true of corn and many 
of our other farm crops. This is why it is necessary for the 
farmer to understand the needs of the crops he is to grow, 
and to give them the attention, care, and feed they require. 




Fig. I. A Crop that has been helped intelligently 
Courtesy of Kansas State Agricultural College 

Otherwise they will not thrive. Each crop has its own way 
of living, its own season in which to grow, and requires some 
particular help. 

Plants need to be fed just as animals do. A new soil that 
is rich enough to supply the necessary plant food will grow 
crops for a number of years without this aid. However, after 
the soil has been producing crops for a number of years, 
it can no longer furnish all the food the plant requires, 



WHEAT 



especially for large yields. Hence the farmer feeds the crop 
just as he feeds his stock. 

Of course he does not actually go out every night and 
morning and feed the plants, as he does his work horses or 
cows ; nor does he feed them a certain part of the year 
and let them depend upon the soil the rest of the time. 
What he actually does is to put food in the soil before the 




'W ••'♦5** 




Fn;. J. A \ 1 1 in 1 ii-MoKK •] II w l-'(ii< I \ \. lu is an Acre 
The average yield for the United States is about fourteen bushels 

seeds are planted, or at that time, and the plants help them- 
selves when they need the food. On most soils only a small 
part of the food the plants need is given by the farmer. The 
soil is depended upon to furnish the rest. The plant food in 
the soil, therefore, is the basis of all crop productions. If we 
waste it, we shall suffer. 

WHEAT 
Wheat has been grown for thousands of years. Nearly three 
thousand years before the birth of Christ the Chinese grew 
it, although it was not known in America until white men 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



settled here. Wheat is the great human food grain. From it 
is made most of the bread we eat. It is now more generally 
used as a food than it was in earlier times, and we eat more 
bread than the people did a long time ago. Instead of a peck 
of wheat being the yearly allowance for a whole family, as 
was the case in many instances one hundred and fifty years 
ago, about five and one-half bushels is eaten by every person 




Fig. 3. The Wheat Belts of the United States 
Each dot represents one hundred thousand bushels 

in the country annually. This means that the average family 
of five would eat twenty-seven and one-half bushels of wheat 
in a year instead of one quarter of one bushel. 

There are two classes of wheat, the hard and the soft. 
Most of the light bread is made from hard wheat. The soft 
wheats do not make the best light bread, but are good for 
making biscuits, crackers, cakes, cookies, crusts, puddings, 
pies, and all other pastries. 



WHEAT 



Wheats are further divided into spring and winter varieties, 
according to the time at which they are sown and harvested. 
Winter wheat is sown in the fall, about October, lives through 
the winter, and ripens the following spring, about the latter 
part of June or very early in July, when it is harvested. 
Winter wheat is grown almost exclusively south of Chicago 
(see map, page 4). 

Some of the winter wheat is hard and some is soft, but more 
is soft than hard. Only a few climates in the United States are 




P^K".. 4. ri.iiWINC r.NUI.K (_'(«\\ I'KAS FDR CrKKKX MaXI'KE 

The cowpeas were planted in wheat stubble after harvest without plowing 

adapted to the growing of hard winter wheat. Kansas is the 
leading hard winter-wheat state. The seed of this wheat, when 
grown in Missouri or Iowa, will soon become soft ; if brought 
back to Kansas, it would be hard again in a few generations. 
Our "Wheat Yield is Low. We do not grow so much wheat 
to the acre in the United States as we should. Our average 
crop is about 14I bushels per acre. Great Britain produces 



6 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

an average of about 3 1 bushels per acre, Germany about 30, 
and France about 29. 

One man in Kansas is reported to have produced 65 
bushels per acre on a 50-acre field. He had taken extra good 
care of his ground and sowed pure-bred seed, which he had 
obtained from the Agricultural College. 

The main reason that our wheat yield is lower than in 
European countries is because we do not farm so carefully. 
The reason the average farmer gets less than 1 5 bushels, while 
one farmer gets 65, is that the average farmer does not rotate 
his crops so intelligently, and does not prepare his ground so 
early in the season nor so carefully as the 6 5 -bushel man 
does. Moreover, the average man uses ordinary seed, while, as 
already shown, the 6 5 -bushel man sows pedigreed, or pure- 
bred, seed. 

EXERCISE 

Visit a mill with your class and ask the miller to explain the process 
of reducing the wheat to flour, and to explain what products other than 
flour are obtained in the milling of wheat. 

Wheat Rotation. For the regions south and east of Kan- 
sas City the following rotations may be considered fairly 
typical and satisfactory for general farming : 

Rotation No. i Rotation No. 2 

Wheat (fertilizer) Corn (barnyard manure) 

Corn (barnyard manure) Wheat (fertilizer) 

Oats (or cowpeas) Clover 

Timothy 

Rotation No. 3 Rotation No. 4 

Wheat Corn 

Corn (cowpeas between the rows) Wheat 

Oats Clover 

Clover 
Timothy 



WHEAT ROTATION 



7 



For the region where alfalfa instead of clover is the staple 
legume a longer rotation must be adopted. It is not profit- 
able to break up a good stand of alfalfa in less than four years. 

The following: rotations are recommended : 



ROTATIONS FOR THE ALFALFA BELT 

TEN-YEAR ROTATION 



Field i 


Field 2 


Field 3 


Field 4 


Field 5 


Wheat 


Corn 


Alfalfa 


Kaffir 


Alfalfa 


(alfalfa) 


Wheat 


Kaffir 


Corn 


Alfalfa 


Alfalfa 


(cowpeas) 


Corn 


Wheat 


Alfalfa 


Alfalfa 


Kaffir 


Wheat 


(alfalfa) 


Kaffir 


Alfalfa 


Corn 


(cowpeas) 


Alfalfa 


Corn 


Alfalfa 


Wheat 


Kaffir 


Alfalfa 


Wheat 


Kaffir 


(alfalfa) 


Corn 


Alfalfa 


(cowpeas) 


Corn 


Alfalfa 


Wheat 


Alfalfa 


Kaffir 


Wheat 


Alfalfa 


(alfalfa) 


Kaffir 


Corn 


Kaffir 


Alfalfa 


Alfalfa 


Corn 


Wheat 


Corn 


Alfalfa 


Alfalfa 


Wheat 


(alfalfa) 




Kaffir 


Alfalfa 


(cowpeas) 


Alfalfa 




Fig. 5. A Crop of Cowpeas grown in Corn for Fertilizer 

Cowpeas planted in corn, with one-horse drill after the corn was laid by. Courtesy 
of Kansas State Agricultural College 



8 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

Cowpeas and alfalfa in these rotations follow wheat. The 
cowpeas are planted after removing a crop of wheat, and are 
seeded at once or in early July, either in rows, a peck to the 
acre and cultivated like corn, or in grain drills with the 
regular grain planter, one bushel to the acre and not culti- 
vated. They should be plowed under for green manuring 
whenever the land seems to require it, otherwise they may 
be pastured off or harvested for hay. 

The alfalfa should be planted in August. Barnyard 
manure should be added to the field the year previous to 
plowing it under. In plowing under the alfalfa field from 
four to six inches of green alfalfa should always be turned 
under. The sod should always be plowed in the fall. 

Barnyard Manure. Barnyard manure applied to almost 
any soil will greatly help any crop. It should be applied 
while fresh, and should be plowed under as soon as convenient. 
Barnyard manure not only adds phosphorus, nitrogen, and 
potash, but the vegetable matter it contains will make the soil 
blacker and mellower. It will also help the soil to gather 
and hold the water from rains and melting snow. It will keep 
the surface from washing and will help to prevent crops from 
freezing out in the winter. 

The Seed Bed. In many respects the most important sin- 
gle factor in wheat production within the control of the farmer 
is the preparation of the seed bed. It is of great importance 
in any climate, but it is even more important when a wheat 
crop must be grown with a limited rainfall, as is the case in a 
number of our leading wheat states. Indeed, in such states 
soil preparation becomes of supreme importance. As far as 
possible all the moisture that falls as rain or snow should be 
caught, forced into the ground, and saved for the use of the 



WHEAT 9 

wheat. This means that the soil must be in such a condition 
that the rain and snow water will enter it readily, and the sur- 
face must be tilled frequently enough to prevent unnecessary 
evaporation. The deeper the earth is plowed, the greater is 
its water-gathering power. The more frequently the surface 
is cultivated, the less will be the evaporation. 

On new soils there is danger that the soil may not pack 
well if plowed too frequently or too deeply, and in some places 




Fig. 6. Disking hefore Plowing to save Moisture 
Courtesy of Kansas State Agricultural College 

it will blow and drift if made too fine on the surface. These 
are factors that must be taken into consideration, and the 
treatment must be adapted to local conditions. 

An Experiment in Seed-Bed Preparation. To show how 
important it is to prepare the land properly before sowing the 
seed, the Kansas Agricultural College in 191 1 made eleven 
different tests. ^ 

^ " How to grow Wheat,"' by William H. Jardine, Bulletin No. 176, Kansas State 
Agricultural College Experiment Station. 



lO AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

It was learned from these tests that it is not only important 
to prepare the land in the right way but also at the right time 
of the year. It was proved — something the wisest farmers 
already know — that the land must be prepared well and also 
a good while before the seed is to be sown. 

The poorest method, shallow plowing just before seeding 
time, gave a yield of 4\ bushels an acre. The best method, 
early and deep plowing, and frequent harrowing between the 
time the ground was plowed and seeding time, gave a yield 
of 381- bushels an acre. 

Results of the Experiment. Here is the story of the experi- 
ment. Remember that the soil was the same for all methods, 
the same kind of seed was used, and the seeding was all done 
at the same time and in the same way. The only difference 
was zt'/iai and /wzc the seed bed was prepared. 

Method No. i. The land was disked but not plowed, and produced 
4^ bushels an acre. It cost ;? i .95 an acre to prepare the land in this way. 
The wheat sold for enough to pay this back and leave a balance of $1.47 — 
not enough to pay for the seed, much less the cost of seeding, harvesting, 
threshing, and rent of the land. Is this a profitable way to grow wheat.? 

Method No. 2. Land plowed three inches deep (too shallow) Septem- 
ber I 5 (too late for best results) gave a yield of 14J bushels, a return of 
$8.52 an acre after paying for the labor required to prepare the ground. 

Method No. j. Land plowed a proper depth, seven inches, Septem- 
ber I 5 (too late) produced 1 5| bushels an acre and gave a return of #9.08 
an acre after deducting the cost of preparation. 

Mciliod N'o. 4. Land double-disked July 15 to stop the waste of 
moisture, plowed seven inches deep September 15 (too late for the best 
results, even when land has been previously disked), produced 23^ bushels 
an acre, showing a return of $14.50 an acre after paying for the cost 
of preparation. 

Method N^o. j. Land double-plowed August i 5, and cultivated enough 
to preserve the moisture and pack the seed bed, yielded 27I bushels an 
acre, a return of $15.34 after deducting the cost of preparation. 



WHEAT I I 

Method No. 6. Land plowed August 1 5 seven inches deep, and not 
worked until September 15, showed a yield of 23I bushels an acre and 
a return of #15.34 after deducting the cost of preparation. 

Method Xo. 7. Land plowed July 15 three inches deep (plowed at 
the right time but too shallow for the best results) produced 33I bushels 
an acre and brought a net return of $22.32. 

Method Ah^. 8. Land double-disked July 15 to save moisture, plowed 
August 15 seven inches deep, produced 34I bushels an acre and gave 
a net return of $21.44. 

Method Xo. g. Land listed July 15 five inches deep, ridges split 
August 15, gave a return of 34I bushels an acre and $23.73 over all 
expenses. 

Metliod X^o. 10. Land listed July 15 five inches deep, worked down 
level at once to avoid waste of moisture, gave 35 bushels an acre, from 
which there was left $24.35 after paying cost of preparation. 

Method X'o. 11. Land plowed July 15 (the right time) seven inches 
deep (right depth) gave a yield of 38I. bushels an acre, the highest yield 
in the experiment. After paying for the cost of preparation there was 
left $25.74 an acre, the largest net return of any method under trial. ^ 

It should be borne in mind that this difference in the crops, 
due to preparation, would not be shown every year. The 
season in which this experiment was tried was very dry, and 
the good preparation probably showed to as great advantage 
as it ever would. Once in a while a season would come in 
which one kind of preparation would do about as well as 
another. This would be when there was plenty of moisture, 
when the wheat was protected by snow in the winter, and all 
other conditions were favorable. In such a season poor 
preparation would give almost as large a crop as good prepa- 
ration, but we must bear in mind that such seasons are rare. 
In general, a great difference will be found in favor of the 
better and earlier preparation — a difference sufficient to pay 

1 Copy these figures in your notebooks and review them frequently until you are 
familiar with them. 



12 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



for the extra labor involved and leave a nice profit to the 
farmer for doing better farming. 

Prepare the Wheat Bed early. A lesson is taught by this 
experiment that cannot be too often or too strongly impressed 
upon our minds, and that is, the importance of preparing the 
seed bed early in the season and keeping the surface tilled 
so as to save moisture ;ind keep down weeds. (East of the 




Fig. 7. Plowi.m; Day .\m> Xiciit td ci.kak the Seed Bed early 

looth meridian, Salina, Kansas, this advice is always sound. 
West of the lOOth meridian a slightly different practice 
will be advisable to keep the soil from drifting.) By this 
method a compact seed bed will be made, and the mulch on 
the surface will have checked evaporation so that there will 
be enough moisture in the soil to insure the prompt germi- 
nation of the seed and a steady growth of the young plants 
up to the beginning of cold weather. By that time the plants 
will be large enough to take care of themselves, and the 



WHEAT 13 

winter rains will not settle the soil and leave the plants with 
their roots exposed. 

Late plowing leaves a loose seed bed with little moisture ; 
the seeds either fail to germinate or grow so slowly that they 
enter the winter weak and puny. 

In the hard winter-wheat belt of Kansas and Nebraska, 
and in the spring-wheat region of the Dakotas, etc., where 
the areas grown to wheat are too large to permit all the plow- 
ing to be done immediately after harvest, a slightly different 
method has been found advisable. The stubble is disked, and 
if necessary double-disked, as soon after harvest as possible. 
This is done to check the evaporation of moisture in the soil 
and to prevent the growth of weeds that would use up the 
moisture that should be saved for the wheat. The land should 
be plowed to a good depth as soon after the disking as pos- 
sible, and either disked or packed with a surface packer (see 
Fig. *266). 

If the plowing is postponed too long after disking, the 
weeds may spring up. In such a case it will be necessary to 
disk again to kill these weeds. 

From six to seven inches is a good depth to plow for 
wheat, provided the land be worked down enough to make 
a firm and compact bed before seeding ; otherwise it is not 
good practice to plow so deep. To compact the soil without 
unnecessary expense is not a simple matter. Immediately 
following the plowing the disk harrow should be used, and 
the disking will need to be repeated at intervals. Keep in 
mind that a firm and compact seed bed cannot be obtained 
by one disking or harrowing. Special suggestions regarding 
the preparation of the seed bed for regions of limited rain- 
fall are given in the chapter on Dry Farming. 



14 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



The Seed. A good crop cannot be expected from poor 
seed. We have learned already that some varieties of corn 
are well adapted to one locality but will not thrive in another. 
This is true also of wheat. The first thing to find out is 
whether the seed is suited to given conditions. 

For the hard winter-wheat region the Russian sorts, like 
Turkey Red and Karkoff, are the best, not only on account of 
their producing power, but for their excellent milling qualities. 

Among the soft winter wheats the Fultz is perhaps the 
most widely adapted and most generally grown. Other sorts 
more or less popular are Fulcaster Currell, Mediterranean, etc. 




Fiu. S. IIak\ iminh; Wheat with a Header 



Sow Graded Seed only. Seeds that will germinate and 
make vigorous plants are the kinds to sow. It is estimated 
that at least one fifth of the wheat grains sown are cracked 
or otherwise injured so that they will not produce strong 
plants. This is a large waste of grain. It is estimated that 
in this way a million bushels of wheat are wasted annually 
in large wheat states like Kansas, Minnesota, or California. 
This waste might be prevented by running the wheat through 



WHEAT 



15 



a fanning mill or grain grader, to remove these worthless 
grains and save them for flour or feed. This would leave only 
the plump, heavy grains for seed, and these are the only ones 
that should be sown. It is not always the largest grains that 
make the best plants, but rather the heaviest in proportion 
to their size. A medium-sized, heavy grain is better than a 
large light one. There are graders that will throw out the 
light grains as well as the broken and shriveled ones, and 
leave only the plump heavy grains to be sown. These are the 
ideal seed. 

The Time to sow. A safe rule to follow is to sow early 
enough to insure the development of strong plants by the 




A Threshing Scene 



time winter sets in, and yet late enough to miss the Hessian 
flies. You have already learned about the Hessian flies (page 
*I45). You know that these flies are supposed to have been 
brought to us in straw by the Hessian troops during the 
Revolutionary War. In your history you have learned that 
the fight with these troops was soon over, and did not cost 
us much money or the lives of many of our soldiers ; but the 
fight with this insect pest has gone on ever since, and is likely 
to last as long as we grow wheat. It costs the wheat growers 



i6 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 




-a 



of America millions of dollars every year in damaged or 
ruined wheat. Sometimes a loss of ten million dollars will 
be recorded in one year in one state. 

Usually September 15 or 20 is considered 
a safe time to begin sowing, although some 
begin as early as the first week in September. 
Toward the northern boundary of the winter- 
wheat belt the last week of August frequently 
is regarded as a good time to begin. 

The best wheat farmers regard October 1 5 
or 20 as a good time to be through sowing. 
When large areas are to be sown, it is not 
always possible to finish seeding as early as 
this. Indeed, in favorable seasons good results 
have been obtained from seeding as late as 
December i ; but, as a rule, wheat sown after 
November 10 stands a poorer chance of get- 
ting throttgh the winter and making a good 
crop than that which is sown earlier. 

CORN 

The Corn Plant. Let us divide the corn 
plant into grain, cob, silk, husk, leaves, stalk, 
roots, blades, and tassel, and try to learn what 
we can about each. What use has the plant 
for each, and of what value are they to us ? 

The Roots. There are two kinds of corn 
roots. One kind grows entirely underground 
and feeds the plant by gathering moisture and 
food from the soil. These we call the feeding 
roots. Of course we want plenty of feeding 




Fig. 10. A Corn- 
stalk JUST AS 
THE Tassel be- 
gins TO appear 

a, the shoots which 
are later the ears ; 

b, tassel ; c, sucker ; 
d, brace roots ; e, 

feeding roots 



CORN 17 

roots. Without them the plant would be unable to obtain 
the food necessary to develop the leaves and ears. A stalk 
with a weak root system will never grow fine large ears (see 
page 36). 

I'he other roots come out just a few inches above the 
ground at the joints and grow down into the ground. These 
are called brace roots (see Fig. 12). The brace roots do not 
gather any moisture or food, but merely help the plant to stand 
upright. They do not appear until about the time the corn 
is beginning to tassel. Then the stalk has become so tall and 
heavy that the feeding roots are not strong enough to hold it 
erect, especially if the soil is very wet and soft and the wind 
blows hard, as it frequently does while it is raining. 

EXERCISE 

Have the children bring in stalks that have been blown over and have 
later assumed a partly upright position. Study their structure and show 
how they have helped themselves up again. Note that they have formed 
a new growth on the under surface of the stalk, which made it longer 
than the upper surface. By this means the plant has taken an upright 
position again. 

Have several cornstalks dug up with a part of their feeding roots 
and their brace roots attached. Note how all roots come out in whorls 
or circles at the joints. 

Note how different corn plants differ in regard to the development 
of their brace roots (see Fig. 1 2). 

The Stalk. In the great corn states (see map, page 18), 
such as Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Indiana, 
and Ohio, the stalks are from ten to twelve feet high, and the 
ears are near enough to the ground so that they may be con- 
veniently reached in husking. The outside or shell of the 
stalk is very tough and hard. It gives the stalk the strength 



CORN 



19 



necessary to carry the ear and leaves and to stand erect. 

When the corn plant is put into the silo (page 45), this 

pith is kept moist, and it absorbs some of the juices of the 

corn grain and of the leaves. 

The stock like it better than 

when it is dry, and it is more 

nourishing, 

EXERCISE 

Have the pupils divide the stalk 
into shell and pith. Help them to 
find the fibers or tubes. 

Compress a mass of pith in the 
hand ; then w^et it and note how 
it expands. 

The Leaves. These consist 
of two main parts : the sheath 
or culm, which surrounds the 
stalk for a short distance from 
the joints ; and the blade, 
which is the part extending 
out from the stalk. 

The leaves are to the plant 
what the lungs, stomach, and 
skin are to us. In the leaves the food is digested and formed 
into compounds. The water taken up by the roots (see p. *3 1 ) 
has dissolved the soil and some of the minerals, such as iron, 
lime, sulphur, phosphorus, potash, soda, etc. These elements 
are carried in the water directly to the leaves, where they are 
united with the matter which the leaves have taken from the 
air, — carbon dioxide, — and several entirely new substances 




Fig. 12. Brace Roots trying to 

reach the ground to help the 

Plant stand up 

Note also the wavy appearance of the 

leaf. See exercise, page 20. Courtesy of 

Missouri Agricultural College 



20 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

are formed. Among them are sugar, starch, oil, wood, wax, 
gum, protein, etc. (see pages *4i-*42). 

Now that we understand that the leaves do for the plant 
what the lungs, skin, and stomach do for the animal, and 
when we remember that the corn plant is, without exception, 
the hardest-working plant known to man, we are ready to 
believe that it needs plenty of leaf surface. In selecting our 
seed we should never take a seed ear from a stalk with 
leaves far apart, narrow, or thin. These would indicate that 
such a stalk was weak. 

EXERCISE 

When you are studying the corn plant, note that the blade is not 
smooth, like a ribbon. The edges are slightly ruffled because they have 
grown faster than the middle of the leaf. This gives it a wavy appear- 
ance and makes it more elastic. But for this arrangement the wind 
would whip it into shreds (see Fig. 12). 

Did you ever notice that in dry weather the corn blade rolls up like 
a rope in the middle of the day? Your father doubtless has said his 
corn was '• twisting." Whenever this happens we know that it needs 
rain. The roots cannot gather water from the soil as fast as the leaves 
are emptying it into the air. Soon the plant would die of thirst if the 
leaves did not check this waste of water by rolling themselves into small 
ropes, so as to expose as little of their surface as possible to the hot sun 
and the thirsty air. 

This is the way it rolls itself up. On the upper surface of each leaf 
is a large number of wedge-shaped cells. They are so small, however, 
that they cannot be seen without a microscope. When plenty of moisture 
is coming up through the roots, these cells are filled with water and are 
open in their natural way. When the moisture supply in the plant 
begins to run low, the wedge-shaped cell is the first to lose its moisture 
and to close up. This makes the upper surface of the blade narrower 
than the lower surface, and the leaf rolls as a consequence. The pupil 
may try this for himself by taking a piece of paper and wetting it 



CORN 



21 



thoroughly, and then drying one side rapidly either by holding it over a 
flame or a stove or by exposing it to the sun. The side that dries the 
faster will draw up or become narrower, and the sheet will roll very 
much as the corn blade does. If it were not for this very wise provision 
of nature, corn could not resist the dry hot weather, and many of the 
hot spells that now do really very little harm would kill so many of the 
plants as to ruin the crop. What wonderful ways plants have of taking 
care of themselves ! 

Feeding Value of the Leaf. The leaves stand next to the 
grain in feeding value. Cattle, horses, and sheep relish the 
leaves greatly, either when 
green or dried, provided 
the substance has not been 
washed out of them, as 
happens when the corn is 
left standing to be husked 
from the stalk, and the 
animals are turned into 
the field after the husk- 
ing is done. By that time 
most of the leaves have 
been blown off and lost, 
and those remaining have 
very little of the feed- 
ing value they once had. 

The Tassel. The tas- 
sel is made up of a large number of flowers, but these are 
incomplete or really are but half flowers. The other half is 
what the farmer calls the shoot, and consists of the silk and 
the ovule, the latter being finally the corn grain or kernel. 

For every grain there must be a silk and an ovule. The 
silk must receive from the tassel of some corn plant a grain 




Fig. 13. The Kind of Tassel that 
will produce plenty of pollen 



22 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



of pollen, and the contents of this pollen grain must be car- 
ried to the ovule ; otherwise there will be no kernel or grain 
(see pp. *44-*48). In most plants all the parts of the flower 
are together in one blossom. This is true of wheat, oats, 
and kaffir. 

EXERCISE 

Remove the husks from an ear carefully, so as not to disturb the 
silks, and )ou will see that for every grain on the ear there is a silk 
(see Fig. 14). Before the grain could form and grow it was necessary 

for a grain of pollen to come 
from the tassel of some stalk 
to every silk. 

How many pollen grains 
do you suppose are required 
to pollinate all the silks in the 
cornfield, and allow for the 
thousands of grains that miss 
the silks and fall to the ground? 
It is estimated that as many 
as eighteen million grains may 
be produced on a single tas- 
sel. If every stalk required a 
thousand grains to pollinate 
its silks, seventeen thousand 
grains would be wasted for 
every one that was used. This 
is nature's way of being sure 
that all, or nearly all, of the 
silks are pollinated. This, then, is not a real waste, but is a way of 
making sure that we shall have a good corn crop. 

Go into a cornfield when the tassels begin to appear, and study the 
development of the two parts of the blossom. Note when the tassel 
appears on a dozen or more stalks. Note the stage of development of 
the silks on these stalks. Twice a day bend the stalk with as little jar 
as possible, gently shake it over a sheet of paper, and note when the 




u;. 14 



CORN 



23 



pollen grains appear. They will be recognized as a yellowish dust. The 
individual grains are too small to be seen by the naked eye, but a collec- 
tion of them will be visible on white paper. It will be seen that the 
pollen usually appears a few days before the silks on that particular 
stalk are ready to receive it. This means that the silks are more likely 
to receive pollen from other stalks than from their own. This is what 
is known as cross-fertilization. 

It has been learned that the plants are more vigorous and produce 
better crops when cross-fertilized, that is, when they receive the pollen . 
from some other stalk, than when self-fertilized. It is a wise provision of 
nature, therefore, which makes the silks come out a few days later than 
the pollen, so as to prevent the stalks from fertilizing their own grains. 
Note also what a large quan- 
tity of pollen is produced, as 
has already been pointed out. 
The leaves and often the 
ground are }ellow with the 
wasted pollen grains. 

Go into a cornfield or crib 
and examine a large number 
of ears and note how many of 
them have an occasional miss- 
ing grain where the silk re- 
ceived no pollen. Note in some 
cases where the cob is entirely 
bare at the butt of the ear, 
which means that no pollen fell 
when the silks on this end of the ear were ready for it. Note how many 
ears have missing grains at the tip. This shows that the pollen supply 
had been largely exhausted before the silks on this end of the ear were 
ready for the pollen grains. Note that the middle of the ear is more 
uniformly filled than either end. Why ? 



^^^^^^^^r. 




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Fig. 



A Case OF Poor ruLi.iNAiiuN' 



The Ear. The ear includes the husk, grain, and cob. The 
grain is the valuable part of the corn plant. It is the part we 
sell or use for food for ourselves or for our farm stock. The 



24 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

more grain and the less cob and stalk and leaves, the better. 
But we have already learned that other parts, although not so 
valuable as the grain, are necessary to its growth ; and if the 
stalk is too weak, or the leaves too thin, or the cob too small, 
we shall have a small harvest of grain. It is necessary, there- 
fore, to develop all the parts of the plant together. Less than 
one half of the entire weight of the plant is grain. 



Fig. i6. Grown ky an Eighth-Grade Boy 
Courtesy of Kansas State Agricultural College 

Two Ears to the Stalk. Frequently the beginner in corn 
growing will try to get two ears to a stalk. It seems simple 
enough to suppose that two ears should give us more corn than 
one ear. In practice, however, it has not worked out that way. 
The corn grower has learned, after long years of experience, 
that if he gets one good ear to the stalk, it is all he may hope for. 



CORN 



25 



Barren Stalks. Some stalks in every field fail to bear ears. 
In very dry or in excessively wet seasons, or when the corn 
has not been properly cultivated, or when it has been grown 
on very poor soil, the number of barren stalks will be much 
larger than when all the conditions are favorable for growth. 
When the stand is too dense, — that is, with too many plants 
to the hill, — the number of barren stalks will be larger than 
when the stand is just right. Corn planted late will have 




Fig. 17. Johnson County White 
High quality and great uniformity. Courtesy of Missouri Agricultural College 

more barren stalks than that which was planted early. There 
is no known way of preventing barren stalks, but a variety 
that has many barren stalks should be discarded and one 
that is more fruitful selected. 

The Variety to Plant. First of all, it should be a variety 
or type suited to your soil and climate. The region with 
restricted rainfall must have a type that has been developed 
in that region and is able to thrive under such conditions. 
A different type is needed for poor soil than for fertile land, 
even in the same neighborhood or on the same farm. In 



26 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



considering what particular corn is adapted to a district, the 
resuhs of the average season rather than the yield of some 
unusually good year should be taken as a guide. Sometimes 

a corn that has been de- 
veloped in the locality will 
prove to be the best kind 
to grow, provided it has 
been carefully selected 
and " bred up." 

Arrange to have the 
Agricultural College make 
a test of these improved 
breeds of corn in your 
neighborhood, in com- 
parison with the best local 
varieties ; then adopt the 
kind that yields the best. 
The progressive farmer 
will produce his own seed 
after he is once started 
with the best strain, and 
by careful and intelli- 
gent selection will im- 
prove it in quality and 
yield. You can help very 
much in this matter by 
growing seed for your father (see Seed Acre, below). 

Select Seed in the Field and not in the Crib. The crib 
is a very poor place in which to select seed. Frequently 
it will not germinate, and even if it does, the plants may 
be weak and spindling. Besides, one should have a better 




Fk;. iS. a Quick Methou i;v which 

Two Peksons may place Ears in the 

Double-Cord Rack 

Holding one loop in each hand, the person 
standing moves them to the right and to the 
left, while the other places the ears in posi- 
tion, so that each is held apart from the other, 
which permits thorough drying. Courtesy of 
University of Wisconsin 



CORN 27 

opportunity of finding the best ears than the crib method 
affords. There is no way of knowing upon what sort of 
stalk a selected ear was borne. We have already learned 
that it is important to know all about the stalk as well as 
the ear. Therefore the seed should be selected in the field, 
either at the time the corn is husked, or before. 













^^^^ 




M 


M 


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r* 


r .j*i. 


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Fig. 19. The Difference in Yielding Capacity of Two Ears in 
THE Seed Acre 

From which pile should the seed be selected ? Courtesy of Missouri 
Agricultural College 

The Seed Acre. Better even than the field selection is the plan of 
growing one's seed on a seed-test plot or a seed acre. 

How many schoolboys will undertake to plant and care for the seed 
acre for their father this year, and save him the bother of it? This will 
give him fine seed for next year. 

Select for this purpose fifty or one hundred of the best ears ; plant 
them where there will be no danger of pollen blowing from a field of 
scrub or unimproved corn, or corn of any other variety, and thereby 
producing a mixed seed. 

When the tassels begin to appear, go over the plot and mark rows 
that are undesirable, either because the plants are weak and puny, 
too tall and coarse, too short and early maturing, or possibly too late 



28 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



maturing. In any case the rows that have any of these unsatisfactory 
traits should be cut out or the tassels should be removed the moment 
they appear, so that they may not pollinate the ears in any of the rows 
from which the seed is to be selected. 

When the corn is ripe, husk the rows separately, weigh the harvest 
from each, and study the ears carefully. Take one hundred ears for next 
year's seed acre from the best ten rows of this year's crop. Use the re- 
mainder of the seed of the best rows for planting the general crop on 
the farm. Be careful to mix the seed for the general crop, to avoid self- 
fertilization as far as possible (see page *5o). 

Discard the Butt and Tip Grains. In shelling seed corn for 
general planting it is not advisable to save the grains from the 
butt and tips. This is not because they would not yield as well 
as the grains from any other part of the ear, but because they 
are so different in size and shape from those in the middle 
of the ear that the planter will not drop them regularly. 








fMWB— WJWai 



Fig. 20. (iKRMiNATioN Box 
Crosses indicate dead seed. Courtesy of Com Facts, Des Moines, Iowa 



CORN 



29 



Plant Seed that will grow. After the corn is planted it 
is too late to learn that the seed was not good. Before 
planting it is very easy to learn whether the seed you have 
saved or chosen will grow, and whether it will make strong, 
vigorous plants. A germination test should be made of at 
least one fourth of the seed ears. If they show a high per- 
centage of germination and strong vitality, it will be safe 
to plant the remainder of the seed without testing. If, how- 
ever, many of the ears show low germination or low vitality, 
every ear should at once be tested. 

It is not enough merely to learn that the seed you propose 
to plant will grow. You need to know if it will make strong, 




Fig. 21. Five Ears that look alike and appear to be equally 
G(ioi) FOR Seed 

Note the difference in vitality, and also notice that the weakness is shown by the root 
system as well as by the sprout. Courtesy of Corn Facts, Des Moines, Iowa 

vigorous plants with good root systems. Only those ears show- 
ing germination and vigor should be planted. It is especially 
important to have seed of strong vitality for planting early in 
the season. Often a cold rain comes soon after the corn has 
been planted, saturating the soil, and is followed perhaps by 
a week of cold, cloudy weather. Seed of medium or low vital- 
ity will not germinate under such circumstances. Sometimes 
the conditions are reasonably favorable for germination, but 



30 AGKICLLTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

a cold wet spell comes and the weak plants die, or they are so 
far outrun by the weeds and grass that there is no chance to 
save the stand. The plants from seeds of high vitality will 
outlive these hardships and be ready to grow rapidly when 
the sun comes out and the soil dries, and the farmer has an 
opportunity to stir the surface with his cultivator. 

EXERCISE 

Fill the germination tester (see Fig. 20) with sand. Remove six 
kernels from each ear to be tested — two near the butt, two near the' 
middle, and two near the tip. Place the six kernels from one ear in one 
of the squares, tip downward in the sand, and place the ear in the corre- 
sponding square of the rack above. 

Moisten the sand thoroughly and keep it covered with a wet cloth. 
Place the tester in a warm room. The most favorable temperature for 
germination is from 75^ to 90° Fahrenheit. About four or five days 
should be required to complete the test. 

If all the kernels from any ear germinate and produce strong, 
vigorous plants with a good root system, it is satisfactory for seed. 
Otherwise the ear should be discarded. 

Preparation of the Seed Bed. The land should be well 
plowed to a depth of from five to seven inches, depending 
upon the depth of the soil and the depth to which it has 
been plowed previously. Work it to a reasonably fine tilth 
(by tilth the farmer means the condition of the soil due to 
cultivation) as deep as it is plowed, and to a fine tilth on the 
surface. Many farmers are wrong in believing that the soil 
is ready for planting when the surface only has been made 
fine. By digging with a spade to the depth plowed, one will 
soon be convinced that this is far from the case. Large 
open spaces will be found, but a good disking will usually 
remedy this difficulty, and if this is followed by dragging or 
harrowing, the surface will be brought to the proper tilth. 



CORN 



31 



The Listing Method. By this method the seed bed is 
plowed and the corn planted, all in one operation. It saves 
considerable labor and cost. One man with four horses and 
a two-row lister can plow and plant from fifteen to twenty 
acres a day. This method is quite commonly used on the 
loamy soils of Kansas, Nebraska, northwest Missouri, Iowa, 
and elsewhere. 

The lister is essentially two plows in one. It opens a fur- 
row by throwing the soil each way, and the seed is planted 
in the bottom of the furrow. 




Fig. 22. A Field uf Listed Corn 
Courtesy of Kansas State Agricultural College 

The kernels are planted from eighteen to thirty inches apart 
in the row, one kernel in a place. It is generally thought that 
corn planted by the lister will stand more of a drought than 
that planted on the surface in the ordinary way. Experience 
has shown that it is easier to cultivate listed corn than 
surface-planted corn. Soils that hold water or wash badly, 
however, are not adapted to this method of planting. 



32 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Thickness of Planting. This will depend upon the fertility 
of the soil, the rainfall, the size of the variety, the time of 
planting, the quality of the seed. The poorer the soil, the 
drier the climate, or the larger the kind of corn grown, the 
fewer the stalks we want to the acre. On rich soil with 
plenty of moisture a dense stand will produce the larger crop. 
With seed that does not show a high test for germination 
more grain should be planted than where the seed is strong. 




Fig. 23. Cultivating Listed Corn 



On reasonably good soil in the corn belt the ordinary rate 
of planting is from two to three stalks to the hill, with the' 
rows 3 feet 6 inches or 3 feet 8 inches apart each way, or 
an equivalent distance in drills. On the thinner upland soil 
from one to two stalks should be the rule. A very common 
way of planting in drills is to drop the kernel every twelve or 
fourteen inches. Aside from the difficulty of keeping the corn 
clean in wet seasons, this system is generally preferred. 

The Depth to plant. This will be influenced chiefly by 
the season, that is, whether late or early, and by the amount 



CORN 33 

of moisture in the soil at the time. Remember that a seed 
has to supply all the food which the young plant uses for its 
growth, including its top and roots, from the time the grain 
starts to sprout until the plant has its top above the ground 
and has unfolded at least one leaf that has had the benefit 
of sunlight or strong daylight. 



Tarkio, Mo.^^ -' -190_ No- 



ILi-SMSl' I^M'^leSf Al. 2IBAMM 

^y^^TARKIO, MO, 

k ^i'<Wfef.4jA^4 -^'-'■■' '^ '-"' Dollars j 



Fig. 24. The Result of a Si;.M.MEK"b W'ukk uf an LLkuiih-Gkade L>uy 
AND HIS Two Brothers 

The depths to be recommended for planting corn are as 
follows : about \ inch for the early planting, when the soil 
is quite moist and somewhat cold ; from i inch to i .V inches 
in the middle of the planting season ; 2 inches near the end 
of the planting season, when the soil is quite warm and getting 
somewhat dry. On light porous soils we may safely plant 
much deeper than on stiff cold clays. 

EXERCISE 

(i) Take two glass fruit jars. In one put a quantity of water that 
has been boiled for several minutes, to drive out all the air. Put in this 
jar a number of seeds of the lima bean, corn, etc. Note that the seed will 
not germinate. Put a number of seeds of the same sort in the other jar 
containing water that has not boiled, and note that these will germinate. 



34 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



The seeds in the boiled water have been smothered. We might say they 
have been drowned because there was not air enough in the water to 
keep them alive. 

(2) Take a box of soil about a foot deep, and plant a row of corn 
four or five inches from the edge, beginning at a depth of one inch, 
and increasing one inch at a time, until a depth of ten inches is reached. 
Do the same with a row of lima beans; also with timothy, clover, 
alfalfa, or mustard. Draw strings across the box to indicate where the 
seeds were deposited, and mark on the margin of the box the depth to 
which they were planted. Note the appearance of each plant as it comes 
through the soil, as well as its size and apparent vigor. Note the dif- 
ference in the way the plants 
grow. Note how the large 
seeds are able to come up from 
a much deeper planting than 
are the small ones. Observe 
how much more promptly 
those planted a reasonable 
depth appear than those 
planted much deeper. After a 
reasonable time, say a week, 
carefully take up all the seeds 
which have not produced 
plants and from them study 
the development of the young 
plants. How many of the 
plants died before they reached 
the surface.'' 

When to plant. Corn likes warm weather. Cold, wet soil 
is especially objectionable to the young corn plant. It is 
necessary to delay planting until the soil is sufficiently warm 
and diy. It was a rule among the Indians never to plant corn 
until the white oak leaves were as large as a fox squirrel's ears. 
In light sandy soil corn may safely be planted earlier than in 
heavy, compact clay. 




Fu 



A \\ h.MKK.N CuK.N CkIK 



CORN 



35 



Ordinarily the early planting outyields the late planting, 
but it is more trouble and costs more because it must be 
cultivated oftener. The intermediate planting is considered 
the best. However, when one is growing a large acreage, it 
is not possible to plant it all at the best time. The best time 
in the central part of the corn belt is considered to be from 
May I to May 20. 

Cultivation. Corn is cultivated more cheaply before it is 
planted than at any time thereafter, by properly preparing the 




Fig. 26. Cultivating Two Rows at a Time 



seed bed. The next least expensive cultivation is after the 
corn has been planted, but before it comes up. If it rains 
and a crust forms, break it immediately with a smoothing 
harrow. This will kill the millions of weeds that have just 
started, it will help the young corn plants to come through 



36 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



the surface, and it will save the moisture. As often as the 
weeds start, repeat the harrowing, provided the rains have not 
packed the surface to such an extent that the harrow will not 
kill them. In that case cultivate, to a slight depth and leaving 
the ground as nearly level as possible, while the corn is young. 
It is always advisable to follow the cultivator in a few days with 
a smoothing harrow, to level the surface, making a fine earth 
mulch and killing the weeds that have started in the meantime. 




Fig. 27. Brace and Feeding Roots 
Note how deep tillage destroys these roots 



With proper management shallow cultivation will kill the 
weeds and maintain a good mulch more effectively and more 
cheaply than will deep tillage, and will not injure the corn 
roots. It is an old notion that it benefits corn to have its 
roots cut, but this is wrong. Every time the roots are cut the 
plants are injured, and the yield is reduced (see Fig. 27). 



CORN 37 

It is of the utmost importance, however, to keep the field 
free from weeds. They will do more harm than broken 
roots. If there is no other way to destroy them than by 
deep tillage, practice it. It is advisable to ridge the corn 
slightly at the last two cultivations, to help the plants stand up. 

Keep the surface well tilled and free from weeds until the 
corn plants are large enough to shade the ground completely, 
after which, in ordinary' seasons, it will, not pay to cultivate. 

Harvesting Corn. A successful corn picker, like a success- 
ful cotton picker, has not yet been invented. We still harvest 
both of these great crops by hand. It costs more to "gather" 
a bushel of corn to-day than it did fifty years ago, because 
labor is higher. We use the same methods we did then. By 
labor-saving machinery we have cut down the cost of pro- 
ducing a bushel of wheat from three hours of a man's time 
to ten minutes. We have greatly reduced the cost of raising 
corn, but, as stated before, the cost of husking has increased. 
On the loamy prairie soil of northwest Missouri, eastern 
Kansas, and Nebraska it is believed that corn can be grown 
cheaper than it can be harvested. 

Certainly a man can grow more corn in a favorable season 
than he can harvest. The bulk of the corn in the corn belt 
is still husked from the standing stalk and put into cribs or 
pens until fed to the stock or hauled to the railway station 
to be sold. 

Cattle, horses, and sheep are turned into the stalk field to 
find the nubbins that were not worth gathering and the ears 
that were overlooked, as well as to eat the fodder that has 
not been blown away by the winds or ruined by the rains. 

Save the cost of husking whenever possible is a good 
rule for every farm. Very often it is best to make the hogs 



38 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



harvest their own corn. The ear and stalk may be kept to- 
gether on much of the corn that is fed to cattle and sheep. 
That which is put into the silo needs no husking. 

Corn binders are now successful and save the farmers 
much hand labor in cutting corn for field curing or for 
silage, but they do not reduce the expense of cutting corn 
in the same degree that the self-binder has reduced the cost 
of harvesting wheat and other small arrains. 




Fig. 28. The Modern Way to unload Corn 



There are machines known as corn buskers and shredders, 
that quite successfully husk the corn and tear the stalks and 
blades into shreds. The shredded fodder, however, has not 
proved to be as valuable a feed as was expected, and, con- 
sidering all the expense involved, this method of harvesting 
and handling corn has not met with any general favor. 



SELECTING AND JUDGING SEED CORN 



39 



SELECTING AND JUDGING SEED CORN 

Scale of Points ^ 

1. Uniformity and trueness to type .... lo 

2. Shape of ear lo 

3. Color of grain 5 

4. Color of cob 5 

5. Market condition (soundness; 10 

6. Tips 5 

7. Butts 5 

8. Kernels (uniformity) 10 

9. Kernels (shape) 5 

10. Length of ear 10 

1 1 . Circumference of ear 5 

12. Space between rows 5 

13. Space between kernels on cob .... 5 

14. Percentage of corn 10 

Total 100 





r 

i 


IM 



Fig. 29. The Type to select 



Uniformity of Exhihii and Triteness to Type or Breed. The ears 
should be uniform in size, type, and color. Deduct one half point for 
each ear that differs materially from the average of the exhibit. The 
corn should conform to the type or breed that it represents. 

1 Copy this on the board and have the pupils copy it in their notebooks or on 
suitable paper for use in judging. 



40 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 




Fu;. 30. Extra Fink Hutts 



Shape of Ear. The ear should be cylindrical or as nearly so as pos- 
sible ; that is, it should carry its size well from butt to tip. It should be 
straight, and of proper length and thickness. Each state has adopted a 

ratio of diameter to length for 
each variety of corn, and these 
should be considered in form- 
ing a judgment. In general, 
cut one point for each ear that 
is seriously defective in shape. 
Color of Grain . For a per- 
fect score the grains should be 
uniform in color and should 
correspond to the standard for 
the breed or type they repre- 
sent. Each mixed grain cuts 
the score one tenth of a point. 
T/ie Cob. The cob should be a bright cherry-red for yellow corn, and 
white for white corn. Except in the case of St. Charles white corn, a red 
cob in a white-corn exhibit counts as a mixture, so also a white cob in a 
yellow exhibit counts as a mix- 
ture, and deducts from three 
to five points from the score. 
Market Condition. This 
means that the corn should 
be ripe, sound, tight on cob, 
free from injury of insects or 
mice, and be clean and bright 
in color. 

Tips and Butts. Less em- 
phasis is laid on these points 
now than formerly, but they 
are still considered important. 
For a perfect score the grains 

should extend over the tips in regular rows and be as nearly uniform 
in size and shape as possible. The butt should be filled out in regular 
rows, leaving room for a reasonably strong shank or attachment to 
the stalk. 




Fig. 31. PoINTKI) AND Fl'I.L-TlI'l'KI) 

Kernels compared 
Courtesy of Corn Facts, Des Moines, Iowa 



SELECTING AND JUDGING SEED CORN 



41 



The Kernel. The kernels should be uniform in shape, size, and color, 
and should be wedge-shaped so as to fit most perfectly on the cob. Grains 
that are shriveled should be scored off from one half to one point for 
every ear. Ears that have shallow or pointed grains should be scored off 
one point. 

LengtJi and CircuDiference of Ear. For directions on this point con- 
sult your Agricultural College or Corn Growers Association, as they differ 
greatly in different states and for different varieties. In scoring always 
measure both the length and circumference. A well-established rule is 
to add the deficiencies and excesses in length and deduct one point for 
each inch of departure from 
the standard. Do the same 
for the circumference. 

Spaces between the Kernels. 
The kernels should be packed 
tightly on the cob. Wide fur- 
rows between the rows and 
open spaces between the rows 
next to the cob or between the 
kernels in the row are defects 
that should count against the 
score. Straight rows from the 
butt to the tip are more likely 
to have kernels well placed 

than are crooked or irregular rows. A good rule for scoring is to cut 
one fourth of a point for furrows that are from one thirty-second to one 
sixteenth of an inch deep, and one half a point for one-sixteenth-inch 
furrows and above. Cut a point for each ear showing open space between 
kernels at the cob. 

Percentage of Corn to Cob, or Shelling Record. Well-matured corn 
should shell from 84 to 87 per cent of grain : that is, a bushel of 70 pounds 
of ear corn should shell from 58 to 61 pounds of grain. This is for good 
corn. The general run of commercial corn when well matured will shell 
from 56 to 57 pounds of grain per bushel. A rule for scoring is to cut the 
exhibit one point for each pound that it falls short of the accepted stand- 
ard of shelling for the variety. 



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^^H S 


u 


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Fig. 32. Edge View of Kernels, show- 
ing Proper and Improper Shapes 



42 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 




Fig. 2i3- Schoolkoys' Corn-Judging Cuntest 



CORN PROBLEMS 

Note. Com rows are ordinarily 3 feet 6 inches apart, and the hills are the same 
distance apart in the row. This gives 3556 hills to an acre. A well-matured ear will 
weigh from 12 to 20 ounces. 

1 . With two stalks to the hill and with 90 per cent of a perfect stand, 
how many plants would there be in an acre .-' 

2. How many plants would there be with three stalks to the hill and 
with 90 per cent of a perfect stand ? 

3. How many plants would there be with three stalks to the hill and 
with 7 5 per cent of a perfect stand .'' 

4. How many plants would there be with three stalks to the hill and 
with 75 per cent of a perfect stand? 

5. Suppose the ears weigh 12 ounces each, that there are three 
stalks to the hill, and a 90 per cent stand, how many bushels of corn 
would there be on an acre? (A bushel of corn on the cob weighs 70 
pounds, that is, 56 pounds of grain and 14 pounds of cob.) 

6. The average acre yield of corn for the United States is a little 
more than 24 bushels. With three stalks to the hill and with 90 per 
cent of a perfect stand, what would be the average weight of an ear 
when the yield is 24 bushels an acre ? (Slightly more than 2| ounces.) 



SELECTING AND JUDGING SEED CORN 43 

7. Bring from your father's crib or cornfield an ear of about the 
average size of his crop. Also find a nubbin that weighs 2|- ounces. 
Compare the size of the average ear and of the nubbin. Weigh the 
average ear. How much does it weigh ? 

8. Find an ear that weighs 10 ounces. With three stalks to the hill 
and with a 90 per cent stand, and assuming that every stalk bears an 
ear of this size, the yield will be nearly 86 bushels an acre. What is the 
average acre j'ield in your neighborhood .'' 

9. Does your father produce 86 bushels of corn an acre .'' 

Note. Evidently the low com yield of the United States or of your neighbcr- 
hood is not low because the ears are too small ; it must be that there are not enough 
ears to the acre. Either the stand is poor or many of the stalks do not bear ears. 

10. Do only one half of the stalks in your father's field bear good 
ears ? Answer this by counting 200 hills in a field and report to your 
teacher the results according to the following form : ^ 

FORM OF REPORT ON THE STAND AND YIELD OF CORN 

On farm 

School District No 

Date 

Number of hills counted 

Number of hills missing 

Number of hills with one stalk 

Number of hills with three stalks 

Number of hills with more than three stalks .... 

Total number of stalks in .... hills 

Number of stalks with one good ear 

Number of stalks with two good ears 

Number of stalks bearing nubbins 

Number of stalks barren 

Total number of ears in hills 

Per cent of stalks bearing good ears 

Estimated acre yield, counting 3500 hills an acre as a 

perfect stand, 10 ounces for each ear 

Name of pupil 

1 The pupil should be required to rule blank forms for recording these data. 
After they have reported their results and their computations have been corrected, 
they should be permitted to take them home for the information of their parents. 



44 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

1 1 . A hog fed on alfalfa and clover pasture, or given alfalfa or clover 
hay and all the corn it will eat, will make gain in live weight of about 
twelve pounds for every bushel of corn eaten. How many pounds of 
gain will the corn in this crib make? 

12. With hogs selling at 5^ cents a pound, live weight, what would 
the gain made be worth ? 

13. What would this make the corn worth by the bushel.'' 

14. Rating corn at 45 cents a bushel, what does the hog's gain cost 
by the pound .-* 

15. Corn alone fed to hogs, that is, without alfalfa or clover, or with- 
out shorts or tankage, will make about nine pounds of gain to the bushel. 
Which is the cheaper system, feeding the corn alone or with alfalfa 
or clover? 

16. With corn at 45 cents a bushel, what do the hog gains cost when 
corn alone is fed ? 

17. Borrow a corn planter. Have the boys block it up so the grains 
that are dropped may be caught conveniently and counted. Have some 
of the pupils bring a pint of corn shelled from the tips only ; also a pint 
shelled from the butts ; also a pint shelled from the middle of the ear. 

Have a pupil whose father has a seed-corn grader bring a pint of 
carefully graded corn free from kernels that are misshapen or broken, 
undersized, or too long. 

Adjust the planter to drop three grains in a hill. Drop fifty or one 
hundred hills of each kind of seed. Keep a record of the number of 
grains dropped each time. Put the results on the blackboard and make 
a summary of the hills, showing how many grains of each kind of corn 
they contained, as follows : 

Number containing more than three grains 

Number containing less than three grains 

Number containing only one grain 

Number containing no grains 

Have some of the pupils bring in ears with wedge-shaped grains 
(see Fig. 32, page 41); also with grains carrying well their width and 
thickness. 

Note. In all cases when requesting pupils to bring in material from their 
father's farm, it is well to have them write down definite and detailed directions as to 
what to get, and to notify them as early in the fall as possible, thus givmg plenty of 



THE SILO 



45 



time. The parents will at once become interested and help them find this material, 
which will thus be better adapted to the purpose and will be obtained with less difficulty. 
The pupils in all cases should be required to enter in their notebooks a logical 
statement of all the facts brought out in any lesson, and of the conclusions drawn 
therefrom. If managed in this way, it will be only a short time until the parents will 
take quite as much interest in the lesson as the pupil takes. 



THE SILO 

A silo is a room or tank in which green fodders are pre- 
served for feeding purposes. Usually it is shaped like a 
water tank. It is built of cement, staves, boards, stone, brick, 
concrete blocks, or tile. Ensi- 
lage is the name of the mate- 
rial preserved in a silo — usually 
it is called silage. 

More than a hundred years 
ago some farmers in Europe 
learned that green fodder, put 
into an underground pit and 
covered with soil to exclude the 
air, would not decay and was 
greatly relished by farm stock. 
This was the beginning of 
silage making. It was not, how- 
ever, until a little more than 
forty years ago that this proc- 
ess was introduced into France. 
From there it came to this country, and has spread until now 
there are many silos in every state in the Union, and thou- 
sands are being built every year. In some states, especially 
those in which dairying is the chief industry, more than one 
half of the corn grown is made into silage. 




Fig. 34. Making a Silo 



46 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

How Silage keeps. It may seem strange that such mate- 
rial as green corn, sorghum, kaffir, and milo will keep in the 
silo, when, as we all know, it will spoil or decay if thrown 
into a pile in the open air. 

A silo is nearly air-tight. Very little air can get into the 
mass of silage after it settles, and this is one of the reasons 
wh)- it keeps. But of really more importance is the fact 
that when the green corn is ready to be put into the silo, it 
contains some sugar. Green cornstalks run through a cane 
mill would give a thick greenish liquid that is sweet and 
smells like honey. This liquid is about four parts sugar to 
every hundred parts of juice. Almost as soon as this green 
corn is put into the silo it begins to ferment. The sugar is 
soon changed into acid. While there are several acids there 
are only two about which we are concerned now. One of 
these is called lactic acid, which is well known as a part of 
sour milk and buttermilk. It is produced by fermentation 
of the sugar. The other acid is known as acetic acid, the 
acid of vinegar. Like lactic acid, this is made from the sugar 
of the corn, but not directly. First, a yeast works on the 
sugar, making it into alcohol, which, in turn, is immediately 
made into acetic acid. These two acids preserve the silage 
exactly as vinegar preserves pickles. In fact, a silo is a large 
pickling factory. No salt or other preservative is used : the 
green fodder, as we have just learned, makes its own pre- 
ser\dng material. 

Green fodder that contains very much sugar, like sorghum, 
makes a more acid silage than fodders that have less sugar, 
such as corn and kaffir. Silage should not be too acid. Green 
fodder that has little or no sugar will not keep well in a silo, 
because the acids that preserve the silage cannot develop. 



THE SILO 47 

This is perhaps one of the main reasons that clover, alfalfa, 
cowpeas, and soy beans will not keep well in a silo. They 
do not contain enough sugar to develop the acid required to 
pickle and preserve them. When mixed with corn or sor- 
ghum, there is enough sugar to develop the acid required to 
preserve either. Silage that has been properly made will keep 
for several years and will be quite good when taken out. 

In a hundred tons of corn silage there is about a ton and 
a half of acids. If these acids were separated from the silage, 
they could be sold on the market for about $ 1 700, while the 
silage itself would not be worth more than $350 or $400. 

A milch cow or a steer will frequently eat 50 pounds of 
silage in a day. This amount contains more than 12 ounces 
of acid, or the equivalent of nearly nine quarts of ordinary 
vinegar a day. If this were all vinegar acid, acetic acid, it 
would not be good for the cow or steer ; but more than half 
of it is lactic acid, the acid of sour milk, and this is very 
beneficial because it gives the animal a better appetite and 
helps it to digest its food. 

EXERCISE 

If there is a silo in the neighborhood, take the class to visit it when 
it is being filled. Note the ripeness of the fodder that is being siloed. 
Take the pupils into the silo if the ventilation is good, and point out to 
them how careful the farmer is to distribute and pack the material evenly, 
and how important it is to have the heaviest and largest pieces, such as 
the butts of the stalks and the pieces of the ears, mixed with the leaves 
so that the whole mass may become as nearly air-tight as possible when 
packed. 

If the silo is not too far from the school, visit it again a few days 
later, taking along a thermometer and noting how hot the mass has be- 
come. The temperature a few inches from the surface is often as high as 
1 20^, while down in the silage it usually stands between 80° and 95°. 



48 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



This heat is caused by the fermentation. What is this fermentation 
doing? Note that the color of the material, near the surface at least, is 
changing from the natural green to a sort of brown. 

Have the owner explain how the silo is constructed, and also how 
the silage is usually bloivn up from the cutter to the top of the silo, often 
a distance of 30 to 40 feet. 

The Kind of Silo to build. At first the silos were square 
and not very deep, and much silage spoiled in the corners 
and along the walls. Now nearly all the silos are built round, 




Fig. 35. A Concrete Sh.u 

like a water tank, and are very deep, so as to make a heavy 
pressure of the material, thus excluding the air. Seldom, in- 
deed, is a silo less than 24 feet deep. A depth of from 30 
to 36 feet is to be recommended. 

A silo 12 feet in diameter and 24 feet high will hold 
about 50 tons of silage. This is as small as should be built. 
It will hold about five acres of corn and will feed ten cows 



THE SILO 



49 



eight months or fourteen cows six months. The usual size 
of a silo for the farms in the corn belt is 14 feet in diameter 
and 30 feet high, with a capacity of 100 tons. If more than 
100 tons of silage is needed, it is usually advisable to build 
another silo rather than to make this one larger. 




Fig. 36. FiLLiiNG a Silo 
Courtesy of Kansas State Agricultural College 



It is necessary to feed from i^ to 2 inches off the surface 
daily, to keep the silage fresh. 

A 100-ton silo will cost from $250 to $300, according to 
the material used, and will hold the forage grown on 10 or 
1 2 acres. It would not be easy to provide a shelter for this 
quantity of feed in a dry state. In other words, the silo is the 
cheapest way in which to shelter feed for the farm stock. A 
ton of hay occupies ten times as much space as a ton of silage. 



50 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

The Crop to put into the Silo. We have already learned 
that to keep well in the silo fodder should contain enough 
sugar to "pickle" itself. Corn has been found to be the 
best silo crop grown. It should be at the roasting-ear stage 
when harvested. A good rule is to wait until the leaves 
below the ear are yellow and the husks on many of the ears 
brown. The grain will then be fully dented. 

Kaffir makes a good silage ; so does sorghum, except that 
sometimes it becomes slightly too sour. Many attempts have 
been made to preserve alfalfa, clover, cowpeas, and soy 
beans in this way, but only with a fair degree of success. 
Such material will not keep long, and at best there is con- 
siderable loss through rotting. These materials, mixed half 
and half with corn, kaffir, or sorghum, can be preserved 
successfully. 

The Value of Silage as a Feed. Silage is a good feed any 
season of the year, but it is especially valuable in winter 
when live stock are without green feed. It is for winter 
feeding what pasture grass is in the summer. Every one 
knows how fond all classes of stock are of green grass. They 
are almost as fond of silage in the winter. 

Amount to feed. The amount required daily for the dif- 
ferent classes of farm animals are as follows : 

Kind of Stock Pounds 

Dairy Cows 

In full flow of milk 30-50 

Dry 20-30 

Beef Cattle 

Calves and Yearlings 15-25 

Two-year-olds 20-30 

Breeding cows 30-40 



ALFALFA 5 I 

Kind of Stock Pounds 

Fattening Beef Cattle 

First stage of fattening 25-30 

Middle stage of fattening 15-20 

Last forty days of fattening 10-15 

Sheep 

Wintering breeding ewes 3-5 

Fattening lambs 2-3 

Fattening yearling wethers 3-4 

ALFALFA 

This is the clover that the Arabs long ago called " Alfac- 
facah," which means "the best kind of fodder." It was the 
best fodder known to them and it is the best we know any- 
thing about. It is best because the yield is large not only in 
seasons of plentiful rainfall but in dry seasons as well. 

Alfalfa pays better per acre than any other crop that can 
be raised in the alfalfa region. 

There are three principal alfalfa regions in the United 
States. One is west of the 95th principal meridian, that is, 
west of Kansas City, and extends to about the 103d principal 
meridian, or the eastern portion of Colorado. This is the 
region in which alfalfa is grown without irrigation, and in 
which it is eminently successful. Kansas is the leading 
alfalfa state of this region. 

West of the 103d meridian alfalfa is mainly grown under 
irrigation and is very successful. East of the 95th meridian 
this crop does not succeed so well. The yield is not so large 
and the stand is not so long-lived (see map, page 52). 

The Seed Bed. Follow the directions given on page 8 
for the preparation of the wheat seed bed, but note that the 
cultivation should be begun in June instead of in July, and more 




52 



ALFALFA 



53 



frequent summer cultivation should be given than is required 
for wheat. Be sure to have the seed bed compacted to the 
depth it is plowed, and worked to a fine tilth on the surface. 
When to sow. The last week in August or the first 
week in September has been found to be the best season 
of the year in which to sow alfalfa. Spring sowing is 
frequently successful, but many times the young plants are 
choked out by weeds. 




Fig. 38. Representative Tvtes of Alfalfa 
The product of five plants grown from single seeds 

How to sow. From twelve to twenty pounds of seed per 
acre are required. It may be sown broadcast with a wheel- 
barrow seeder and covered lightly with a smoothing harrow, 
or preferably with a wheat drill which has a grass-seeding 
attachment, and covered to a depth of from one half to three 
fourths of an inch. 

Sow alfalfa alone ; that is, do not use a nurse crop. Let 
the young plant have the benefit of all the food and moisture 
that the soil can give instead of sowing with another crop, 
such as wheat or oats, and making the alfalfa plant fight with 
the other plants for its life. 



54 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



Spring-sown alfalfa will require the weeds to be mown 
several times during the summer. Never pasture a young 
stand of alfalfa. It seldom pays to take a crop the first year. 
Better clip the weeds and the young plants and let them lie 
on the ground to serve as a mulch. This will give the plants 
a good start on the next season's growth, and they will pay 




.. V). Si \i l^ i \( i A l.l' AI.I- A 



well for this attention. Fall-sown alfalfa will require no atten- 
tion that year, but should not be pastured. The following 
season the regular cuttings may be made. 

When to cut. For the best hay cut the alfalfa when one 
tenth of the blossoms have appeared. For horse hay it 
should be much riper, or in full bloom. 

Keeping up the Stand. A good practice is to disk the 
alfalfa at least once each year. This should be done in the 
spring just before the plants start. If the land is foul, espe- 
cially with crab grass and foxtail, the two great enemies of 



■ SOME PRACTICAL FARM RATIONS 55 

alfalfa, double-disk in the fall when these grasses are well 
grown, but before they have seeded. This repeated for a few 
seasons will clear the land of these pests. 



SOME PRACTICAL FARM RATIONS 

Work Horses. A farm horse working moderately should 
be fed about one pound of grain a day for each hundred 
pounds of live weight. Thus a 1000-pound horse would require 
ten pounds of grain daily. About an equal amount of timothy 
or prairie hay should be given. When the work is very heavy, 
increase the grain and decrease the hay. When the work is 
light, cut down the grain and give more hay. 

The following grain mixtures have been found very satis- 
factory : 

No. I 

Corn 5 parts 

Oats , 5 parts 

No. 2 

Corn 6 parts 

Wheat bran • 3 parts 

Oil meal i part 

No. 3 

Corn 6 parts 

Oats 3 parts 

Oil meal i part 

Alfalfa for horses should not be cut until in full bloom 
or past full bloom. 



56 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

CATTLE 

Dairy Cows. A good rule is to feed one pound of mixed 
grain for every three pounds of milk produced by the cow in 
a day. In addition to the grain, she should have all the clover, 
alfalfa, or covvpea hay she will eat ; or the amount of hay 
may be limited and from thirty to fifty pounds of silage given 
daily. Some satisfactory grain mixtures ^ are the following : 

No. I 

Corn chop 4 parts 

Wheat bran 2 parts 

Cottonseed-oil meal i part 

No. 2 

Corn-and-cob meal 4 parts 

Wheat bran 2 parts 

Cottonseed-oil meal i part 

No. 3 

Corn-and-cob meal 2 parts 

Wheat shorts 6 parts 

No. 4 

Corn chop i part 

Wheat bran 2 parts 

No. 5 

Corn chop 5 parts 

Cottonseed-oil meal i part 

No. 6 

Corn chop 5 parts 

Oats • • 3 parts 

No. 7 

Oats 7' parts 

Wheat 4 parts 

Cottonseed meal i part 

1 By courtesy of Professor O. E. Reed, of Kansas State Agricultural College 



SOME PRACTICAL FARM RATIONS 57 

No. 8 

Corn-and-cob meal 4 parts 

Cottonseed meal i part 

Breeding Herd. Corn silage and clover, alfalfa, or covvpea 
hav, with a small quantity of grain consisting of equal parts 
of corn and wheat bran, make good feed. 

Steer Feeding 

Corn 90 parts 

Cottonseed meal or cottonseed-oil meal . . . . 10 parts 

Feed all the alfalfa, clover, or cowpea hay they will eat. 

Corn 85 parts 

Cottonseed meal or cottonseed-oil cake .... 15 parts 

Feed corn silage or alfalfa, clover, or cowpea hay. 



SHEEP 
Breeding Ewes 

No. I 

Corn 60 parts 

Bran 40 parts 

No. 2 

Corn 90 parts 

Oil meal 10 parts 

Feed alfalfa, clover, or cowpea hay and corn fodder in 
equal parts. 

If a legume hay is not available, and if the roughage con- 
sists wholly of corn fodder, timothy, or kafifir, change the 
grain ration to corn fifty parts and bran fifty parts, or corn, 
oats, and bran equal parts. 



58 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 

SWINE 

Brood Sows 

No. I 

Corn 50 parts 

Wheat bran 22 parts 

Wheat middling 22 parts 

Oil meal 3 parts 

Tankage 3 parts 

No. 2 

Corn 33I parts 

Oats 33I. parts 

Shorts 33I- parts 

No. 3 

Corn 85 parts 

Oil meal 15 parts 

Pigs after weaning 

No. 1 

Corn 62 parts 

Shortage 30 parts 

Tankage 8 parts 

No. 2 

Corn 92 parts 

Tankage 8 parts 

For growing hogs, corn and alfalfa, clover, or cowpea hay, 
or pasture has been found very satisfactory. 

If pigs are to be grown for breeding purposes, reduce the 
corn to forty parts and use bran or oats. 

In all cases feed all the alfalfa, clover, or cowpea hay the 
hogs will eat ; or allow them the run of an alfalfa, clover, or 
cowpea pasture. A mixture of rape, oats, and Canada field 
peas makes a fine hog pasture. 



JUN 5 1912 



